Review of Saving Mr. Banks (2013) by Becca S — 27 Jul 2014

Saving Mr.Banks is one of these films that hit the theaters around the holidays possibly to catch some Oscar buzz and the attention of families. So should the film gain all the respect of an Oscar film and earn your hard earned dollar? My answer would be, yes. Oscar award winning Emma Thompson plays P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins and a hard boiled proper lady who has been avoiding Walt Disney who is played by Oscar award winning film actor Tom Hanks.

When Walt Disney's daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers' "Mary Poppins," he made them a promise - one that he didn't realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney's plans for the adaptation. For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn't budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp. It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.

First and foremost Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks put a fine performance as expected by the two award winning actors. This film has a lot of heart and sometimes can be very cruel as well. P.L. Travers is a woman with a troubled past who uses her books to praise the woman who came to take care of her and her family when her father was in his last days. Travers only wants the best for her story and doesn't want Walt Disney to turn into an animated film. Flash backs are used to help further tell the story of the troubled Travers. But here is one of the first problems I have with the film. Some of the flash backs come in at times where I felt as if progression was being made with the present day character. Another minor issue I have is you meet the lady who inspires the Mary Poppins character but you never really know much about her, or see her progress in the flash backs. But that is a minor complaint seeing as how the film adaptation of the book actually tends to nail the character.

Tom Hanks as Walt Disney is done very well, you see a man bend all his rules as well as his own ambitions to get Travers to make the right kind of film. Hanks gives a fine performance and the best said scene has to be when Walt visits Travers in her own home. This is where you learn that Walt had his own struggles growing up. His father was a hard business man, and Disney himself struggled to get off the ground. Colin Farell gives a fine performance as Travers father. You see his own imagination play out through his child as he struggles with alcohol problems. You see his decline, leads to rise of Travers but also her struggles to let the past go. But I believe one of the most important Characters in the film is played by Paul Giamatti who plays Ralph. He forms a friendship with Travers and ultimately helps her over come her issues with trust. A few other minor performances help push them film.

All and all Saving Mr. Banks is one of the best feel good films of the year, as well as a look inside the mind of two people who helped film and American cinema. With limited problems Saving Mr.Banks gets a very outstanding rating.

FINAL RATING 9/10.