[Review] Mary Poppins Returns (8/10)

Title - Mary Poppins Returns
Studio - Walt Disney Pictures
Starring - Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Wishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, Dick Van Dyke, Meryl Streep
Writer - David Magee, Rob Marshall, John DeLuca
Director - Rob Marshall
Release - 19 December 2018

I was skeptical after watching the trailers and finding out that there will be the animation section once again, as well as whether or not Emily Blunt could pull this off and make me believe she is Mary Poppins.

But when that door opened at the Banks residence and she walked in, I had chills and I had no doubt anymore in my mind. This is the new Mary Poppins and she could stay as long as she wanted.

Don't get me wrong, she is still one of the worst nannies of all time; losing the children as she pranced on stage for her animated friends. But with every song came important and timeless life lessons.

However, none of the songs stuck in my head. And 24 hours later as I sit and and type this review, I could not recall any single one of them. They played great during the movie, but after that they were actually very forgettable. None of these songs stand a chance against those from A Star Is Born.

This was also a very long movie. Following in its predecessor's footsteps, the three acts played out quite similarly. There was also that visit to someone in town, and in this case it was Meryl Streep; which I found that whole section to be rather unnecessary except for featuring Streep in a song.

The animation section also took a longer and unexpected turn as there was an animal chase scene that reminded me of the classics, Lady And The Tramp or 101 Dalmations.

We also did not fully comprehend what was Colin Firth character's motivation in this movie, which I thought was a big let down in not giving his character more dimensions.

Lin-Manuel Miranda came with an inconsistent accent, but his singing was top-notched and his rapping was even better. It was almost a reminiscent to some of his work in Hamilton.

But the most impressive one was still Blunt. Whether it was her acting, singing or dancing; she sold her character so well and you couldn't pull your attention away from her. She dominated the screen like she should, like Mary Poppins would.

Also, there was a great Dick Van Dyke moment. He moved just as he did more than 50 years ago. As well as a beautiful number by Angela Lansbury in the end that tied everything together very nicely to end the movie.