"We made it up."
"Well, un-make it up."
In 1961, author P.L. Travers (Thompson), traveled to Los Angeles, CA to meet with Walt Disney (Hanks) and potentially sign over the rights to her Mary Poppins. For the past twenty years Disney had been contacting Travers to turn Mary Poppins into a film. Travers agreed to the meeting, with a few provisions: the film was not to be a musical, no animation, and she wanted script supervision.
Travers is underwhelmed by California and Disney. She does not like the vision of the creative team: scriptwriter Dan DaGradi (Whitford) and songwriters Robert (Novak) and Richard (Schwartzman) Sherman. She has each session recorded to make sure her specific wishes are met.
Hashing out the story causes her to think back on her childhood in Australia and her relationship with her beloved, alcoholic father (Farrell), who served as the inspiration for Mr. Banks. Can she and Disney reach a compromise with the film?
Obviously we know the outcome, P.L. Travers granted Walt Disney the film rights and in 1964 Mary Poppins premiered in theaters. The film was met with success and was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won 5. However, Travers did not like the film and refused to work with Disney again. In fact, she was so upset with Disney that when she was approached about adapting the story for the stage, she refused to permit any reference to the Disney version.
The relationship and discussions between Travers and Disney was the subject of Travers' biography Mary Poppins She Wrote and 2 documentaries: The Real Mary Poppins and The Shadow of Mary Poppins. The documentaries inspired a screenplay by Kelly Marcel, which was produced by Disney Studios.
The cast listened to the recordings from Travers sessions with the creative team and consulted with people that were there, including Richard Sherman. Emma Thompson is incredible, an inspired casting choice. She has a difficult role, but makes it look easy. Tom Hanks disappears into the role of Walt Disney. He watched footage of Disney and has the mannerisms and little tricks that make you forget that he is playing someone else. Bradley Whitford, best known for his TV roles (on The West Wing and currently on Trophy Wife). B.J. Novak is also known for TV (The Office). Jason Schwartzman typically plays unique characters on film. Whitford, Novak, and Schwartzman work well together and show a range of emotions. Colin Farrell is an interesting choice for the father, but really connects with the role and shows the good and bad from Travers' memories. Annie Rose Buckely tackles young Travers, known as Ginty, and nails the sadness and wonder of the role.
The film doesn't try to demonize Travers or Disney, or idolize them. Both are shown in positive and negative light throughout the film, and they don't mind showing the humanity of the characters.
The film is a roller coaster of emotions: you'll laugh, you'll get frustrated, you might cry... And you'll remember the songs of your youth. Novak and Schwartzman perform a few of the Sherman Brothers original songs ("Let's Go Fly A Kite" and "Feed the Birds" are standouts). In my Examiner article of the film, I included a video of the main cast singing "Let's Go Fly A Kite" with Richard Sherman. And over the credits they show pictures of Travers' visit to Disney and pictures from the Mary Poppins premiere. They also share a clip of the recording of Travers' meeting with the creative team.
A strong film. You already know the result, but it is an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the making of an iconic film.
Saving Mr. Banks (2013) 125 minutes
Director: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Emma Thomson as P.L. Travers
Tom Hanks as Walt Disney
Annie Rose Buckley as Ginty
Colin Farrell as Travers Goff
Ruth Wilson as Margaret Goff
Paul Giamatti as Ralph
Rachel Griffiths as Aunt Ellie
Bradley Whitford as Don DaGradi
Jason Schwartzman as Richard Sherman
B.J. Novak as Robert Sherman
Kathy Baker as Tommie
Melanie Paxson as Dolly
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