‘Poppins’ special gives behind-scenes view of classic
Movie animation has come a long way since Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke frolicked with cartoon penguins, sheep and carousel ponies in “Mary Poppins.”
Yet fresh off her voice work in the cutting-edge cartoon sequel “Shrek 2,” Andrews thinks the blend of live action and animation holds up splendidly in the 1964 musical fantasy – which gets elaborate new DVD treatment in a two-disc 40th anniversary set out this week.
“I looked at it again, and I’d just come off ‘Shrek,’ and I know these days how animation has changed and how different it is, the tools they have today,” Andrews says.
“But you don’t see a single crack in the work of ‘Poppins,’ and they didn’t have that technology in those days. It’s brilliantly done.”
For the new DVD edition, Andrews and Van Dyke teamed up with co-composer Richard Sherman for a reunion segment to reminisce about the film. The set also includes an extensive making-of documentary and a new cartoon short featuring Andrews in an adaptation of one of P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins” stories.
The Disney classic marked Andrews’ film debut after a stage career that included originating the role of Eliza Doolittle in the London and Broadway productions of “My Fair Lady.”
“Mary Poppins” stars Andrews as a practically perfect nanny who floats out of the London sky on her umbrella to become mother hen for the mischievous children of an aloof banker. The movie’s memorable songs include “Chim-Chim-Cheree,” “A Spoonful of Sugar” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
The new DVD also includes the deleted song “Chimpanzoo,” as well as the “I Love to Laugh” game and footage from the world premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, featuring such stars such as Annette Funnicello (sporting a skyscraper of a hairdo), Buddy Ebsen and Walt Disney himself.
It’s hard to imagine anyone but Andrews in the role of Poppins. But as the making-of documentary reveals, other actresses were considered for the part, including Mary Martin, Angela Lansbury and even Bette Davis.