An alluring look on the tumultuous production of one of the most iconic children’s film, “Saving Mr. Banks” banks on an array of stupendously wonderful performances from its cast. The battle between the power tripping craziness of P.L. Travers against the whimsical, happy-go-lucky nature of Walt Disney is something the film is able to portray well on the big screen.
In 1961, “Mary Poppins” author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) is hesitant to take a trip to Los Angeles. The trip involves meeting Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) as he persuades her to give him full rights on the big screen adaptation of her best-selling novel. This is easier said than done as Travers personally hates the toned down and animated nature of Disney films. Also, we soon discover the true nature of what’s holding her back - that Mary Poppins and the characters she has written are “family”.
Amazing performances litter “Saving Mr. Banks”. This is one of those films that it would be hard to find who stands out. Both leads, Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, gave hearty and extremely believable portrayals of their characters and even Colin Farrell as Traver’s flawed father is of note. Speaking of Hanks and Thompson, the interplay between the two is probably the one to look out for. The ironic nature of their relationship defines the whole thing - jolly whimsical against straight-up, undiplomatic honesty - and eventually their unexpected similarities bring that much needed depth towards the end. You see, as much as there were amazing performances from the cast, the film felt a little too light most of the time. We see Traver’s aversion towards Disney’s influences but the film eventually strolls through these issues until everything turns sunny and happy in the end. It feels a little too goo to be true to be a real take on what actually happened. Overall though, “Saving Mr. Banks” has much more positives than negatives - just don’t expect it to be an accurate representation of the real thing.
Rating: 4 reels
Why you should watch it:
- amazing performances from Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson and even Colin Farrell
Why you shouldn’t watch it:
- feels a little too light on the much important issues
- seems too good of an ending to be true
An alluring look on the tumultuous production of one of the most iconic children’s film, “Saving Mr. Banks” banks on an array of stupendously wonderful performances from its cast. The battle between the power tripping craziness of P.L. Travers against the whimsical, happy-go-lucky nature of Walt Disney is something the film is able to portray well on the big screen.
In 1961, “Mary Poppins” author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) is hesitant to take a trip to Los Angeles. The trip involves meeting Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) as he persuades her to give him full rights on the big screen adaptation of her best-selling novel. This is easier said than done as Travers personally hates the toned down and animated nature of Disney films. Also, we soon discover the true nature of what’s holding her back - that Mary Poppins and the characters she has written are “family”.
Amazing performances litter “Saving Mr. Banks”. This is one of those films that it would be hard to find who stands out. Both leads, Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, gave hearty and extremely believable portrayals of their characters and even Colin Farrell as Traver’s flawed father is of note. Speaking of Hanks and Thompson, the interplay between the two is probably the one to look out for. The ironic nature of their relationship defines the whole thing - jolly whimsical against straight-up, undiplomatic honesty - and eventually their unexpected similarities bring that much needed depth towards the end. You see, as much as there were amazing performances from the cast, the film felt a little too light most of the time. We see Traver’s aversion towards Disney’s influences but the film eventually strolls through these issues until everything turns sunny and happy in the end. It feels a little too goo to be true to be a real take on what actually happened. Overall though, “Saving Mr. Banks” has much more positives than negatives - just don’t expect it to be an accurate representation of the real thing.
Rating: 4 reels
Why you should watch it:
- amazing performances from Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson and even Colin Farrell
Why you shouldn’t watch it:
- feels a little too light on the much important issues
- seems too good of an ending to be true
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