Mary Poppins (DVD, 2004, 40th Anniversary Edition; 2-Disc Set)

Mary Poppins is perhaps one of the greatest children's films I've ever seen. Mary Poppins (soprano Julie Andrews) is a perfect nanny with special powers. The show includes a near flawless mix of live action & animation. The film's musical score is superb, as well. The script, based on P.L. Travers book, is meticulous.

Beginning with a British mother & father (Johns & Tomlinson), who decide to palace an ad for another nanny for their 2 precocious children, Jane and Michael Banks (Dotrice and Garber, the children write their own ad, which their father tears up & burns in their fireplace. The pieces mysteriously go up the flue and into the hands of Mary Poppins. The next day, she glides down from the sky by way of her magic umbrella and answers the children's ad.

Poppins (Andrews) is not a typical nanny. The children can't outdo her as they have every other nanny, for one thing. To captivate their wild imaginations, Poppins takes them on magical adventures even as she teaches the Banks children British etiquette. Bert (Van Dyke) the chimney sweep accompanies Poppins and the children on a holiday to a an animated world with penguins, who serve tea on a carousel, with live horses. They meet Uncle Albert (Wynn), whose laughter causes everyone to levitate. Jane Darwell plays her final role as the Bird Lady.

The 1964 film won Academy Awards for Best Actress, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Song, and Best Special Visual Effects. Producer Walt Disney considered Mary Poppins his highest achievement throughout a career that earned him more Oscars than anyone else. The musical score by Disney's composers Richard & Robert Sherman include:
"A Spoonful of Sugar," "Chim Chim Cheree," "Feed the Birds,"
"Let's Go Fly a Kite," & "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."