A new Disney movie called “Mary Poppins Returns” made its way into theatres during the winter break. The movie is a sequel to the classic Disney movie “Mary Poppins”, which made its debut in 1964. Directed by Robert Stevenson, Mary Poppins was a story of a magical nanny coming to take care of Jane and Michael Banks. The story takes place in London England, and the children learn manners while having loads of fun with Mary. In this sequel Michael Banks is all grown up and has three children of his own. Sadly, his wife recently passed away and Michael is struggling with his finances and is in danger of losing their family home. To Jane, who is visiting to help, and Michael’s surprise, Mary Poppins, their nanny from their childhood appears to help out the family in this tough time. Mary Poppins takes Michael Banks’s three children on adventures while teaching them to be respectful and polite as well. “Mary Poppins Returns” stars Emily Blundt as Mary Poppins, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda playing Jack, a chimney sweep. Some other famous stars in the film include Meryl Streep, playing Topsy, and Dick Van Dyke, who starred in the original film as well. With “Mary Poppins” being such a classic, people definitely have judged this movie extremely critically. Although many people thought this movie was boring and not needed, I found it to be engaging and entertaining. However there were also some aspects that I did not find adequate at all.

“Mary Poppins Returns” had many wonderful attributes. First of all I loved the plot of how it was Michael’s children being taken care of by their childhood nanny Mary Poppins. The three children played by Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson, were spectacular. They fit the roles extremely well, and I was very impressed with their acting and singing for being so young. Dorsey Orlowski, life long Disney fan and Williamsburg resident, said. “For these kids to be so young, and for them to perform at this high of a standard, was absolutely incredible.” Throughout the movie they threw in scenes with animations and magical adventures. These scenes were very whimsical, the perfect Disney touch. Chris Orlowski, Williamsburg resident and veteran engineer, who typically dislikes movies like this and was practically forced to attend the show, said, “The added animations and special effects were my favorite part of the movie.  They were very well constructed and put together.” Moreover, the costumes were flawless. They fit the time period, and the English culture: the clothing was very sophisticated, and exactly the British style. Lastly, I was impressed with Emily Blundt as Mary Poppins, she had a very tough job. Julie Andrews, the original Mary Poppins, defined the role for generations, therefore Emily had tough shoes to fill. In my opinion, Blundt did an amazing job! With all the pressure of living up to the expectations, she aced it!

In spite of all its strengths, there were some less than stellar aspects to the film. First of all, there was a lot going on, many different story lines that did not transition well together. This makes the film extremely choppy and confusing for many people. Second, the movie was predictable, with no suspense of any sort. It was easy to predict what will happen next, and how the film would end. In addition, the movie was very drawn out and could’ve been a lot shorter. There were many times I was like “ugh another song” or “wow is this ever going to end?!” After all the movie was about two and a half hours, which is on the longer side, especially for a children’s film. If I was getting antsy, I cannot even imagine how young children were feeling. Also when considering children, the movie was extremely dark at times. There were several scenes that could frighten children or even sensitive adults, from Michael Banks screaming at his children, to the dark and scary scenery and characters. Some things definitely weren’t child friendly. Katie Orlowski, who at 13 years old is a die-hard Disney fan, shared that she “had to close my eyes at a couple parts, I don’t understand why they had to add horror aspects, I felt that was unnecessary and killed the magic.”

Overall, this film is not an absolute must-see for everyone. Although the film was entertaining and well directed, it was not spectacular. If you are a fan of Disney movies or the original “Mary Poppins,” then it may be worthwhile to see this film. However, I think people should just wait for it to come out on DVD, On-Demand, Redbox, or Netflix. In the end I give this movie a six out of ten.