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Home , Angela Lansbury, David Magee, John DeLuca (producer), Julie Andrews, Marc Platt (producer), Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins Returns

By: Dana 12 A SYNOPSIS “Now an adult with three children, bank teller Michael Banks learns that his house will be repossessed in five days unless he can pay back a loan. His only hope is to find a missing certificate that shows proof of valuable shares that his father left him years earlier. Just as all seems lost, Michael and his sister receive the surprise of a lifetime when - the beloved from their childhood - arrives to save the day and take the Banks family on a magical, fun-filled adventure.”

TRAILER ABOUT THE MOVIE is a 2018 American musical directed by , with a written by and a story by Magee, Marshall, and John DeLuca. Based on the book series Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers, the film is a sequel to the 1964 film Mary Poppins, and stars as the eponymous character with Lin-Manuel Miranda, , , , , , , and in supporting roles. Set in 1930s , twenty-five years after the events of the original film, it sees Mary Poppins, the former nanny of Jane and Michael Banks, returning after a family tragedy.

Walt Disney Pictures announced the film in September 2015. Marshall was hired later that month, and Blunt and Miranda were cast in February 2016. Principal photography lasted from February to July 2017, and took place at in , . Mary Poppins Returns held its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on November 29, 2018, and was released in the on December 19, 2018, making it one of the longest gaps between film sequels in cinematic history at 54 years. The film has grossed over $329 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its acting (particularly Blunt's performance), direction, musical score, musical numbers, costume design, production values, visuals, and sense of nostalgia, although some critics found it derivative of its predecessor. It was chosen by both the National Board of Review and as one of the top ten films of 2018 and received numerous award nominations, including four at the 76th Golden Globe Awards (including for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy), at the 24th Critics' Choice Awards, three at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards, and a SAG Award nomination for Blunt at the 25th Screen Guild Awards. It also received four Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score, Best Original Song ("The Place Where Lost Things Go"), Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design at the 91st .

Marshall has confirmed that a potential third Mary Poppins film with Blunt is in development as he stated that P. L. Travers wrote eight books in total with plenty more material to mine.

PRODUCTION: DEVELOPMENT A sequel to Mary Poppins had been gestating in development hell since its release in 1964. attempted to produce a sequel a year later, but was rejected by the author P. L. Travers, who dismissed Disney's first adaptation. In the late , then-chairman of Walt Disney Studios and vice-president of live-action production Martin Kaplan approached Travers with the idea of a sequel set years after the first film, with the Banks children now as adults and reprising her role as an older Mary Poppins. Travers again rejected the concept, except for Andrews' return, suggesting a sequel set one year after the original film with Andrews reprising the role, but her idea was shot down too because it was impossible to deal with her, who also imposed her own rules, including Poppins' clothing and barring it from being red.

On September 14, 2015, president pitched a new Mary Poppins film to Rob Marshall, John DeLuca, and Marc E. Platt, as the team had produced for the studio the year prior. With approval from Travers' estate, Disney greenlit the project with the film taking place 25 years after the first, featuring a standalone narrative, based on the remaining seven books in the series. Marshall was hired to direct, while DeLuca and Platt would serve as producers along with Marshall. David Magee was hired to write the script. Production: CASTING On February 18, 2016, Emily Blunt was cast in the film to play the title role in the sequel. On February 24, 2016, Lin-Manuel Miranda was cast in the film to play Jack, a lamplighter. In April 2016, Disney confirmed that the film was in development and that Blunt and Miranda had been cast in the lead roles. In May, Disney announced the film's title as Mary Poppins Returns. By July 2016, Meryl Streep had entered negotiations to join the cast to play cousin Topsy, and in the following month, Ben Whishaw in negotiations to play the grownup Michael Banks. In September, Streep formally joined the cast. The following month, Emily Mortimer was cast as the grownup Jane Banks, and Colin Firth joined the film as William Weatherall Wilkins, president of the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank. In February 2017, Angela Lansbury was cast to play the Balloon Lady. Julie Andrews, who portrayed Poppins in the 1964 film, was approached to do a cameo in the sequel, but turned down the offer as she wanted it to be "Emily's show". Dick Van Dyke, who portrayed Bert and Mr. Dawes Sr. in the original film, returns in the sequel as the latter's son, Mr. Dawes Jr., replacing Arthur Malet, who died in 2013. Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins Lin Manuel-Miranda as Jack the Lamplighter

9 Dick Van Dyke as Mr. Dawes Sr. Angela Lansbury as The Balloon Lady

10 Ben Whishaw as Michael Banks Emily Mortimer as Jane Banks Meryl Streep as Topsy Julie Walters as Ellen LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA: HOW WAS HE CAST INTO THE MOVIE?

A few years ago, everyone couldn't stop buzzing about the hit rap musical about one of America's Founding Fathers - and honestly has much changed since? Fans are still struggling to get Hamilton tickets and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s popularity has only soared higher.

The Hamilton creator's life has certainly turned around thanks to his original musical, but it also was one the key reasons he nabbed the role of Jack the Lamplighter in Mary Poppins Returns. Here's how Lin-Manuel Miranda was picked to be in the Disney musical, according to director Rob Marshall: Well, that actually just happened organically. It wasn't even fully intentional. It was actually John DeLuca's idea. He said,“ 'What about Lin-Manuel?' I thought, 'Oh, what a great idea!' I mean, it was the height of the Hamilton craze. I sat with him in between shows. As soon as you sit with Lin, there's such an infectiousness about his enthusiasm and his very pure childlike spirit. It's very authentic, and I thought, 'Well, there's Jack.' It's like he's that cohort of Mary's who sees light in the darkness, and lights London, figuratively and literally. Back in 2015, the musical-theater-loving community couldn't get Hamilton out of their heads. So when Rob Marshall and John DeLuca, who was producer, choreographer and screen story writer along with Marshall and screenwriter David Magee on Mary Poppins Returns were looking for a Jack, Lin-Manuel Miranda was a no-brainer.

Looks like Lin-Manuel Miranda was on the filmmakers' minds right as they were trying to figure out casting. Once they met with him, it sealed the deal as he fit the bill for the sunshine-y character they were looking for in Mary Poppins Returns' Jack.

In his interview with Deadline, Rob Marshall also said that he was following Hamilton from the beginning, before it made its debut on Broadway. While Lin-Manuel Miranda was getting a lot of credit at the time for creating the musical, Marshall saw it for himself, also saw his skill as a performer. Rob Marshall thinks part of why Mary Poppins Returns was an attractive project for Miranda was that it allowed him to hone in on just being an , and not also being involved in writing the project. His past projects like Moana and have seen him primarily writing before lending his acting and singing chops.

Lin-Manuel Miranda took his shot at being a part of the Mary Poppins sequel alongside Emily Blunt, and it certainly has paid off. The movie has been positively received by critics and audiences alike for its blend of nostalgia, new material and delightful message.

PRODUCTION: FILMING Principal photography (phase of film production in which the bulk of the movie is filmed, with actors on set and the camera rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production) on the film began on February 10, 2017, at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England. Eight soundstages were used to build practical sets for the film, including Cherry Tree Lane, Topsy’s Fix-It Shop, Big Ben, the interiors of the Banks home, and the enormous abandoned park, where a big part of the musical number, "Trip a Little Light Fantastic", was set. Scenes requiring green and blue screens for visual effects were first filmed on J and K Stages with physical set pieces for the cast to interact with, which were then replaced with animation in post-production. Filming also took place on location, including outside the Bank of England in March 2017, and outside in April 2017. Principal photography was wrapped by July 2017. PRODUCTION: VISUAL EFFECTS & ANIMATION The visual effects were provided by Cinesite, Framestore, , and TPO VFX and supervised by Christian Irles, Christian Kaestner, Brendan Seals, Matthew Tinsley and Matt Johnson. Like the original film, this film includes a sequence combining live-action and traditional hand-drawn animation. According to Marshall, he asked for an animated/live-action sequence rather than employing modern CGI animation, feeling that it was vital to hold on the classic hand-drawn animation to protect the spirit of the original film. The animation sequence was developed and overall supervision was handled by ex- veteran Jim Capobianco. Ex-Disney animator, Ken Duncan, supervised physical animation production at his studio in Pasadena. Over 70 animation artists specializing in hand-drawn 2D animation from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, and other animation studios were recruited for the sequence. The animated drawings were created using pencil and paper and scanned onto the computer to be digitally inked and painted. Character designer James Woods and animator also helped redesign the penguins from the first film. All of the hand-drawn animation was created by Duncan's animation studio, Duncan Studio, in Pasadena, .

PRODUCTION: MUSIC The music and score for the film was composed by , with song lyrics written by Scott Wittman and Shaiman. The complete soundtrack album was released by on December 7, 2018. Composer-songwriter Marc Shaiman and co-lyricist Scott Wittman began working on the score and songs in 2016. They wrote nine original songs for the film.

The score includes musical references to the songs and score from the first film written by the : these songs include "", "", "" and "Let's Go Fly a Kite". Richard M. Sherman served as music consultant, with Shaiman stating that "if he had something that he thought should have been different or changed, he would have said so. But lo and behold, he didn’t. He was loving what he was hearing, and he really loves the new movie".

On November 26, 2018, "The Place Where Lost Things Go" (sung by Emily Blunt) and "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" (sung by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast) were released, and the soundtrack was made available for digital pre-order. TRACK LISTING

21

TRIP A LITTLE LIGHT FANTASTIC

THE PLACE WHERE LOST THINGS GO COSTUMES https://www.mpaa.org/2018/12/costume-designer-sandy- powell-mary-poppins-returns/

RELEASE The film was originally scheduled to be released on December 25, 2018. However, in July 2018, it was moved up to December 19, 2018. Marketing On March 4, 2018, Disney released a teaser trailer for the film, with the release date of December 25. On September 17, 2018, Disney released an official trailer which revealed new footage, a snippet of an original song from the film, "The Place Where Lost Things Go", and announced December 19 as the new release date for the film. On October 22, 2018, Disney released a special look on Dancing with the Stars' "Disney Night" which teased an original song from the film, "Can You Imagine That". On November 15, 2018, Disney released a sneak peek which teased another original song from the film, "Trip a Little Light Fantastic". On November 22, 2018, Disney released a special episode of 20/20 on ABC called "Mary Poppins Returns: Behind the Magic" which included an extended look of the film. On November 26, 2018, advance tickets for Mary Poppins Returns went on sale along with the digital pre-order of the soundtrack and the release of two tracks off the soundtrack, "The Place Where Lost Things Go" and "Trip a Little Light Fantastic." RECEPTION: BOX OFFICE As of February 8, 2019, Mary Poppins Returns has grossed $169.1 million in the United States and , and $160.7 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $329.8 million, against a production budget of $130 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross $49-51 million from 4,090 theatres over its first five days (including around $35 million in its first weekend) and a total of $75 million over its first week of release. The film made $4.8 million on its first day of release and $4.1 million on its second. It went on to gross $23.5 million its opening weekend (a total of $32.3 million over its first five days), finishing below expectations but second at the box office behind fellow newcomer Aquaman. It then made $6.1 million on Monday and $11.5 million on Christmas Day for total week opening of $49.9 million. In its second weekend the film increased by 20.5% to $28.4 million, remaining in second, and in its third weekend made $15.9 million, finishing third behind Aquaman and newcomer Escape Room.

BUENA VISTA (DISNEY BRAND) Buena Vista was the brand name which was historically often used for divisions and subsidiaries of The Walt Disney , whose primary studios, the Walt Disney Studios, are located on Buena Vista Street in Burbank, California. The studio lot is also home to the Company's corporate headquarters, the Team Disney Burbank building. The logos for the various Buena Vista brands featured the "Buena Vista" wordmark superimposed over the Disney Castle image to signal the affiliation between Buena Vista and Disney. The name literally means "good view" in Spanish. The brand was originally used for the Buena Vista Distribution company by Walt Disney in 1953 after the release of to distribute his film and television productions, thus ending a 16-year affiliation with RKO Pictures. Some films were distributed by RKO until 1956 because of preexisting contracts. Disney semi-retired the Buena Vista name in May 2007.

The Walt Disney World Resort is located in the city of Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The city's namesake lake was known as Black Lake before Walt Disney Enterprises acquired the land in the . The entrance area and themed land of Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure Park at the Resort also makes reference to the brand and real-life street in Burbank.

In 1994, the first Spanish-language production emerged from Buena Vista Productions International, "Navidad en las Americas", a holiday program which aired on the Univision network.

In 1996, Buena Vista International was described as the "international distribution division of ", including "marketing and distribution" of films in the (as of 1995), and (as of 2005). RECEPTION: CRITICAL RESPONSE On , the film holds an approval rating of 78% based on 320 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Mary Poppins Returns relies on the magic of its classic forebear to cast a familiar – but still solidly effective – family-friendly spell." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 54 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, and those at PostTrak gave it an 84% overall positive score and a 62% "definite recommend". Peter Bradshaw of gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing "Emily Blunt is the magical nanny in this scarily accomplished clone-pastiche sequel, which starts terrifically and ends cloyingly – just like the original." Geoffrey Macnab of wrote "The nostalgia here could easily have been very cloying. Instead, it adds to the richness and mystery. In an era of superhero franchises where sequels to successful movies turn up almost instantly, Mary Poppins’s return shows that sometimes it pays to wait. Half a century on, her allure hasn’t faded at all." Owen Gleiberman of Variety deemed the film as a "rapturous piece of nostalgia", lauded Blunt's take on Mary Poppins and described her casting as "practically perfect", and gave his praise on Marshall's direction as well as the production design, musical score, songs, and the supporting performances (particularly Miranda, Whishaw, Firth, and Streep). He also drew comparisons of the film's quality and tone to the 1960s musicals as well the nostalgia to : The Force Awakens. David Rooney of The Reporter wrote: "Its old-fashioned, honest sentimentality plasters a smile across your face and plants a tear in your eye, often simultaneously." Rooney lauded Blunt's leading performance (whose performance he labelled as "preening vanity with unmistakable warmth") along with the supporting performances of Miranda, Whishaw, Mortimer, Walters, Van Dyke, Lansbury, Firth, and Streep as well as the costumes, sets, musical score, and songs (which he referred the latter two as the best since and described it as "full of personality and humor, and reverential" without being slavish in their adherence to the musical patterns of the first film). ACCOLADES

MARY POPPINS: CLASSIC VS NOW A sequel to Poppins is a bold move but also a fairly safe bet. With its timeless themes, memorable tunes and groundbreaking visuals, the musical starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke endures to this day.

With six decades between and the straight-to-video Bambi II, Disney holds the record for the longest wait for a follow-up, but huge gaps between live-action sequels are more rare. Those that require extensive recasting — like Mary Poppins Returns — even rarer.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a recent example in which a beloved series picked up the story with a completely new lead, and that film earned 10 Oscar nominations, a feat Rob Marshall’s musical will hope to repeat.

Set some 25 years after the 1964 original, the concept for Mary Poppins Returns could be potentially quite confusing for some people to wrap their head around, so here’s what we learned from the film’s set about how the two films are connected. Julie Andrews made her feature film debut in Mary Poppins. The actress was just 29 when she was hand-picked by Walt Disney for the role for which she won the Best Actress Oscar. At 35, Emily Blunt is slightly older than Andrews was, but not the 25 years older the timeline of the film would suggest.

“Mary’s a character who lives outside time,” explained producer during Yahoo’s visit to Shepperton Studios during the film’s production in 2017.

“She’s magic. And so she is the one character who actually doesn’t age. So she is as ever as we know her and as she will be forever, that character.”

Her costume has been updated slightly to reflect the styles of the mid-1930s, she has a new carpet-bag, but she still carries the same parrot-headed umbrella, which was faithfully re-created by the production team. And, yes, it still talks.