Who was the Balloon Lady in the original Mary Poppins?
Angela Lansbury as the Balloon Lady, a kindly old woman who sells balloons at the park. The part was written to be a cameo role for Julie Andrews who portrayed Mary Poppins in the original film, but she turned the role down as she felt her presence would unfairly take attention away from Emily Blunt.
Mr. Dawes Jr. says his father had never been happier and gratefully re-employs George as a junior partner. Mary watches the family and decides her work is done. As Mary flies away, Bert looks up and says, "Goodbye, Mary Poppins. Don't stay away too long."
Background. Bert is a jack-of-all-trades who speaks with a Cockney accent. He never stays with one trade too long and adapts to current conditions. He is a long time friend of Mary Poppins, though their relationship is noted to be strictly platonic (but there are hints to suggest a more romantic interest between them).
"Nowhere To Go But Up" Clip | Mary Poppins Returns
What is the message behind Mary Poppins?
Mary Poppins is a story of redemption. We see how a bad parent, caught by the trappings of his work and the stress of everyday life loses sight of the one thing that matters, his family. It's a great character arc.
When Mary Poppins (1964) was being written, the lead role was offered to Dame Julie Andrews by Walt Disney. Andrews told Disney that she was pregnant and couldn't do the movie.
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.
In the stage directions from the script of TV: Deep Breath, Missy was physically described thus; "She's dressed a little like Mary Poppins." Furthermore, Missy imitates the style of Mary's arrival (floating down from the sky using an umbrella) in TV: Death in Heaven.
The most likely possibility is that Mary Poppins is a witch of some sort. That could explain her ageless exterior, her ability to fly through the sky (with an umbrella in place of a broomstick), her enchanted bag, and other peculiarities like flying up the stairwell bannister or attracting animals.
In Mary Poppins Returns, the whereabouts of Van Dyke's chimney sweep Bert are explained away quite early on as "traveling the world, off to parts unknown." However, the same cannot be said for the Dawes family, and in Marshall's sequel, Van Dyke plays banker Mr. Dawes Jr., whose father he played in the 1964 film.
What happened to Michael's wife in Mary Poppins Returns?
The film achieves that shift primarily through one of its plot points: Mary Poppins Returns is set in the year after Michael's wife, the children's mother, died. It finds the whole Banks family in mourning—every member in his or her own way.
When Mary Poppins Returns first picks up with Michael Banks again, things are not going well for him or his children. It's been less than a year since his wife and mother to the children, Kate, died. We don't hear an awful lot about her, but it's very apparent that she was well-loved and is much missed by all.
Mary Poppins and Bert were once husband and wife, before her tragic death. Obviously throughout the movie there is a semi-romantic relationship between Bert and Mary, albeit subtle.
Garber next received a bigger role as the character Michael Banks in "Mary Poppins" (1964), one of the two charges of the protagonist nanny. Jane Banks, Michael's sister, was played by Karen Dotrice. The film was the greatest hit of Garber's career and is the role for which he is most remembered.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, lyricist Alan Jay Lerner had his eye on Andrews for My Fair Lady's film adaptation. "I so wanted you to do it, Julie, but they wanted a name," Lerner shared. This was in reference to Hepburn's status in the film industry compared to Andrew's.
Before we dive into Mary Poppins' clothing, we need to establish a time period and setting to investigate whether her look is accurate or not. As Mr. Banks says during one of his songs, the film takes place in 1910 in England, towards the end of the Edwardian era.
English actor Glynis Johns, who played the daffy suffragette mother Mrs. Banks in the classic film “Mary Poppins,” died Thursday at an assisted living home in Los Angeles, her manager Mitch Clem confirmed to Variety. She was 100.
Jack was an apprentice to Bert (who was played by Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins), and he's all grown up in Mary Poppins Returns. Miranda said that one of the things Jack learns from Bert is to not forget how to view the world with imagination, even as a grown-up. He elaborated, “[Jack] remembers Mary Poppins.
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.
Luckily, back in 1910, when the original movie was set, young Michael's father invested two pence on his son's behalf. At the time, the British tuppence was equal to about four U.S. cents, or as Mary Poppins sang, the cost of a bag of crumbs to feed the birds.
