Review of Mary Poppins Returns (2018) by Miles C — 20 Dec 2018

Mary Poppins is back with an all new cast! Not to worry however, they're not ALL recasts like Emily Blunt. But the tenuous reasons for everyone filling the same roles but looking slightly different has us wishing they were recasts! And why not put a new face on old favorites like Bert and Mary? Having to explain why everyone fits the same mold as the original cast, while not being exactly the same, echoes the stiffness of the entire film.

Mary Poppins Returns attempts to create a beat for beat remake of the original film by coming up with slants on our favorite Poppins story beats. The result is the feeling of being back in a musical, magical London that has us wishing for the old songs, cast, and adventures.

Had this been a recast and a new Mary Poppins adventure that calls upon the beautiful of Travers books, this could have been a big win in the age of the Live Action Disney Re-hash. Alas, it is all too similar to Disney's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which regurgitated Star Wars: A New Hope.

You can't take an old film and rip off it's script beat for beat and come out with something fresh. Only originality will win back the soul of Hollywood. Mary Poppins had heart, and some great performances, but did not ultimately give us the new adventure it promised.

You won't be upset you saw it, but you might just want to watch the original instead.