Mary Poppins (2004, VHS)

We did one of those horrible, evil things this Xmas. Worse than coal in the stocking. Even worse than when your grandmother would give you those horrible, itchy, fluorescent sweaters.

We gave gifts to people that were so not expecting them.

Granted, we wanted to give them gifts (well, I wanted to give them cookies as a gift, but the other half thought this wasn't enough or something, so...), so we did. But we had that awkward, "oh, you should have told us. We left yours at our house," response that everyone knows better than to believe. So, surprise surprise when we were greeted with gifts from the same people the next day...

However, they gave me Mary Poppins, and all the fake "forgetting" of the presents flew out the window, to be replaced by sheer joy. Julie Andrews! Dick Van Dyke! Dancing cartoon penguins!

Lost Already?
For those of you who are oblivious to everything, the story of Mary Poppins starts with the Banks family. Jane and Michael have run off again, and yet another nanny has left, never to return. And so, Mr. Banks decides to take it upon himself to find the children a proper nanny, and writes down all the things he needs, focusing on the firm, strict, disciplinarian he is sure the children need.

The children then take it upon themselves to "help" their father. They, too, have written an ad for what they need in a nanny: someone who doesn't make them take gross-tasting medicine, with rosy cheeks (not ugly!), who plays games and gives treats. Mr Banks sends them back to bed, and sends the letter into the chimney in many small pieces.

One can therefore imagine the confusion suffered by poor Mr. Banks when Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) shows up, replying to the discarded ad. In the mess of it all, Mary pretty much declares herself hired, and before Mr. Banks can get in a word edgewise, up she goes to meet the children.

Mary Poppins is full of magic, from unpacking a hat rack from a small carpet bag, to cleaning up the nursery in a snap (quite literally). She's everything the children wanted, providing them with fun outings and overall adventures (jumping into chalk paintings with Bert [Dick Van Dyke], or tea parties on the ceiling), and although she makes them take their medicine, it doesn't taste bad at all!

While Mary leaves a lot of confusion in her wake (no one seems to understand how she does it), she does manage to bring a new understanding between the children and their father. Love works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?

Mi-Mi-Mi!
Because I am a big ol' nerd, I can't get enough of this music. Granted it probably takes what little punk-credibility I have left and throws it out the window, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make if I can sing "Spoonful of Sugar" at the top of my lungs. Julie Andrews is always top-notch, and Dick Van Dyke can sing and dance alongside penguins like a pro.

"Sister Suffragette" gets me willing to march for the cause every time, and the chimney sweeps inspire me to jump from the balcony (luckily, to date I have resisted). Granted, there are some moments that are less exciting ("did the children really have to sing what they wanted in a nanny instead of saying it? Do I really need a bunch of old men trying to get tuppence?), but overall they are few and far between.

Bonuses Galore (or is it Bonii?)
The disc comes with a couple of the standard-type bonuses, such as the original film trailer and a "Magic of Mary Poppins" making-of featurette. The latter would probably be interesting to children, but it just made me laugh... this feature was certainly done later, for the release of the dvd, to tell us all about the great special effects used in the film. However, knowing very well all the progress that has been made in the last forty years, it's hard to get as excited as the narrator does about the blue-screen dance sequences.

Also featured is the "I Love To Laugh" game. This game consists of uncle Albert floating away laughing in his home, once again. On the floor of his living room are many objects from the film. The DVD (actually, the bird-headed umbrella) asks us many trivia questions, to which the answer is one of the objects in the room. You use the arrow keys on your DVD remote to highlight the appropriate item, and use the enter key to approve it. If you get it right, Albert comes a bit closer to the floor... wrong, and he gets even closer to flying away. If he gets to the top of the screen, you lose; if he gets to the ground, you win.

This game is too simple for us older folk, but may interest a kid. The only problem is that if you have an older DVD player (as in, not a state-of-the-line last year model), you will find this game is rather slow. You input your answer, the dvd grinds and looks like it's about to freeze, then finally kicks in a few seconds later and Albert moves. I don't know that little ones would have the patience required for all the waiting between steps.

Also, the disc features "karaoke" for all the songs... if this feature interests you, make sure to select it first! You cannot actually select the songs and sing them at your pleasure; rather, this shows the words on the screen when the songs appear in the movie. The words appear in white and then go yellow when they are to be sung. The timing seems a bit off to me (not horribly, but rarely does the word light up at exactly the right moment), but this may again be due to a less than brand-new DVD player.

Well, I'll Say...
Even with it's slight quirks, I still adore this movie. You tend to notice something new every time... for example, I didn't remember Mrs. Banks voice being so... well, mouse-like. Did they have her inhale helium before every line or something?

All in all, this is a great film, one I can enjoy alone now, and in the future in the presence of any yet-to-exist children. While some favorites from youth tend to lose a bit of charm as one ages (Pete's Dragon, anyone?), Mary Poppins guarantees to keep it together for years to come! Cheerio!