To the Banks children in her care – and to the audience at home – the bag fuels the imagination and instills a sense of wonder. The one-of-a-kind nanny pulls large items out of her bag, such as a lamp, mirrors, a plant, hat stand and more.
In this charming scene, Mary Poppins pulls out of her carpet bag a hat stand, a particular mirror, a plant, and a big lamp — all lovely metaphors for a nanny about to help some irascible children learn about themselves.
In a good way, Mary Poppins' umbrella keeps her in check. Mary guided the children, while the umbrella guided her. Often times, it introduced Mary to her softer side. Because Mary had a strong-headed disposition, the umbrella helped her to relax once in a while by taking her over the rooftops of London.
The song "A Spoonful of Sugar" from the film Mary Poppins was actually inspired by the polio vaccine. “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.” The iconic song lyric from the 1964 Disney film “Mary Poppins” is a lesson in making otherwise mundane or daunting tasks more enjoyable.
The Mary Poppins bag was magical. In a famous scene with the two Banks children - Jane and Michael - Mary Poppins opens her bag, and starts pulling out objects much larger than the bag itself. A coat hanger, a lamp, a large plant and much much more. It was incredible.
Mary Poppins is a story about life's tradeoffs and the importance of finding balance, understanding and fulfilling obligations, and subordinating personal ambition.
One of Mary Poppins's mysterious and fascinating qualities is her ability to fly using her parrot-handled umbrella. There are many theatrical ways to achieve this that do not require hiring flying specialists, rigging wires, or breaking the budget.
At a time when 'Disney princesses' were shown to the world as people who were almost always dependent on the presence of a 'prince' to rescue them, 'Mary Poppins' appeared, slowly descending from the heights in her umbrella to make it clear that a woman does not have to depend on anyone to shape her life.
The word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in Mary Poppins is said to be simply a word used as "something to say when you have nothing to say," but the mouthful of nonsensical syllables certainly has brought cheer to audiences for decades.
It was in 1924, while Travers worked as a journalist at a London newspaper, that she came up with the idea for a novel about a whimsical-yet-stern nanny called Mary Poppins. The name, Travers told the BBC, came from the inscription "M. Poppins" written in the flyleaf of one of her favorite books as a child.
MARY POPPINS won the Oscar® for Best Visual Effects. DID YOU KNOW? Disney used a new technology called sodium vapor process to film on a yellow screen that was later combined with animation.
MIRANDA: He grew up alongside the Banks kids, but he was the kid shining shoes outside while they were living in the house. And they've written off their relationship with Mary Poppins, but Jack never forgot. Jack sees Mary Poppins and remembers it all for the magic that it is.
The awe Mary Poppins inspires is actually inspired by the characters' own imaginations. That's why she denies that they ever participated in a horse race in a magical cartoon universe, when Michael reminds her that this happened—she's trying to make Michael look to his own imagination for amazement, not to magic.
"Jack is a lamplighter. He apprenticed under Bert from the original films so he knows all about Mary," said Miranda. "So it's really nice to play the Bert position in this film. You kind of get to go on all the fun adventures with the Banks family."
By the end of the movie, her actions (and manipulations) have made this upper-crust family a family again. She has taught them the power of love. And yet, at the moment the Bankses joyfully reunite, Mary Poppins can only look on from a distance. She's shut out, no thought given to her by her charges or her employers.
Is There a Love Connection between Mary Poppins and Bert the Match-Man? The 1964 Disney movie Mary Poppins certainly suggests such an interpretation. However, Mary Poppins's author P.L. Travers had a different opinion and denied any romantic relationship between these two fictional characters.
Though the state of Mary and Bert's relationship has always been a little fuzzy, a popular theory has recently resurfaced ahead of Mary Poppins Returns explaining their interesting bond: Mary Poppins (played by Julie Andrews in the original and Emily Blunt in the sequel) was actually Bert's nanny when he was a kid.
What is the point of the bird lady in Mary Poppins?
While the bank partners in Mary Poppins represent greed and frugality, the Bird Woman represents charity, kindness, and the importance of enjoying life's small pleasures.
Mary Poppins in Travers' books is strict and no-nonsense, asserting her unusual brand of discipline over the four (later five) Banks children in her charge. Mary is very vain and is always admiring herself in the mirror and other reflections.
As Mr. Banks puzzles over the advertisement's return, Mary Poppins hires herself, and she convinces him it was originally his idea. She meets the children and helps them magically tidy their nursery by snapping her fingers, before heading out for a walk in the park ("Spoonful of Sugar").
Bert: Male, Age: 30s. The narrator of the story, is a good friend to Mary Poppins. An everyman, Bert has many occupations, including hurdy-gurdy player, sidewalk artist and chimney sweep. Bert watches over the children as well as the goings on in Cherry Tree Lane.
