Saving Mr Banks

Recently a friend told me about a website called Show Film First where you get offered free cinema and theatre tickets, generally for previews. Through this website I got 2 tickets to a preview of Saving Mr Banks which is the story of how Walt Disney convinced P. L. Travers (or Mrs Travers as you will find out in the film!) the author to let him make Mary Poppins in to the film we all know and love. I was pretty excited to see this as Mary Poppins has been one of my favourite films since I was tiny, I used to watch it on a daily basis and act it out with props including a tape measure and obviously my height is ‘Practically Perfect In Every Way’.

 

Anyway, Mum and I arrived at the cinema and were asked to turn our phones off as this was the first time the film was being aired. We thought it was just your average preview screening but as we walked into the screen was saw Tom Hanks (Walt Disney) being interview by Alex Zane on a cherry tree lined red carpet in Leicester Square… then we realised that we were watching the premier, so seeing the film at the same time as Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson. I thought that was pretty cool!

 

 

The film was great, if you love Mary Poppins, Disney or a good musical its definitely one to watch. The story starts with Mrs Travers travelling to LA to tell Walt Disney NO YOU ARE NOT MAKING MY LOVELY BOOK IN TO A HAPPY ANIMATION. At this point you wonder how the film ended up how it did. As the film goes on you find out about how P. L. Travers wrote the book and how many aspects of her life seeped in to the characters… Mr Banks being loosely based on her own Father.

A lot of the film takes place with the script writer (Don DaGardi) and the song writers (The Sherman Brothers) putting ideas to Mrs Travers about how they see the film. She of course hates all their ideas until the suggest a change in the ending of the book and perform ‘Lets Go Fly a Kite’.

It’s a really interesting film. I always wonder how books go from paper to screen and this gives a great insight. It’s also lovely to see how one of my all time favourite films came to exist how I know it. Its very hard not to sing along.. especially when they are sharing ideas and you know what the next word should be and you just want to shout it out!

I must say I haven’t read the book of Mary Poppins (shock horror!!!) so it is going on my list of books to read!

If you are a Mary Poppins/Disney/Tom Hanks fan then you should see this film!

Lottie xx