Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

Author P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.

Director:

John Lee Hancock

Writers:

Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith

Stars:

Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Annie Rose Buckley

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 72 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emma Thompson	...	P.L. Travers
Tom Hanks	...	Walt Disney
Annie Rose Buckley	...	Ginty
Colin Farrell	...	Travers Goff
Ruth Wilson	...	Margaret Goff
Paul Giamatti	...	Ralph
Bradley Whitford	...	Don DaGradi
B.J. Novak	...	Robert Sherman
Jason Schwartzman	...	Richard Sherman
Lily Bigham	...	Biddy
Kathy Baker	...	Tommie
Melanie Paxson	...	Dolly
Andy McPhee	...	Mr. Belhatchett
Rachel Griffiths	...	Aunt Ellie
Ronan Vibert	...	Diarmuid Russell

Storyline

When Walter Elias Disney's (Tom Hanks') daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers' (Dame Emma Thompson's) "Mary Poppins", he made them a promise - one that he didn't realize would take twenty years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles, California to hear Disney's plans for the adaptation. For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all of the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Richard M. Sherman (Jason Schwartzman) and Robert B. Sherman (B.J. Novak), Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn't budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights ...

---

Plot Keywords:

disney | author | loss of father | reference to walt disney | suppression of emotion | 

---

Taglines:

Where her book ended, their story began.

---

Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements including some unsettling images

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sue Smith's screenplay was about P.L. Travers' life, and especially her relationship with her stepson. Kelly Marcel was hired to make it into the story of the making of Mary Poppins (1964).

---

Goofs

The blue Australian National Flag (Blue Ensign) is shown at the Allora fair in 1906. The mainly white Australian Federation Flag was, alongside the Union Flag, the most popular flag at public events from 1901 until the 1920s. In 1906 the Blue Ensign could only be flown from military buildings, and on other government buildings if no other flag was available. From the 1920s to 1950s, the most popular Australian flag was the Red Ensign. The Blue Ensign was not formally adopted as the Australian National Flag until 1954.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Travers Goff: [voiceover] Winds in the east / Mist coming in / Like something is brewing / About to begin / Can't put me finger / On what lies in store / But I feel what's to happen / All happened before.

---

Crazy Credits

The credits also have an actual audio recording of P.L. Travers conversing with the filmmakers like the ones depicted in the film.

---

Connections

Featured in Half in the Bag: The Wolf of Wall Street and 2013 Re-cap (2014)

---

Soundtracks

Chim, Chim, Cher-ee
Written by Richard M. Sherman (as Richard Sherman), Robert B. Sherman (as Robert Sherman)
Performed by Randy Kerber

User Reviews

Saving Mr. Banks is a terrific, adult movie that will change the way you view Mary Poppins forever.

This movie is much more than and definitely deeper than one would suspect from the 'syrupy' trailers most people have seen. The understory, gradually revealing the early life of P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, and depicting how the people in her dysfunctional family led her to write Mary Poppins, is the true core of this movie. I will never see Mary Poppins in quite the same way. All of the acting is superior, and the score is excellent. This is not the shallow, childlike movie that many will expect. I would not recommend it for children 11 and under, depending on the child. Otherwise, I highly recommend this movie, even if you are not a big fan of the original Mary Poppins film.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA UK Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Saving Mr. Banks

Filming Locations:

Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort - 1600 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$413,373, 15 December 2013

Gross USA:

$83,301,580

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$117,867,984

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Ruby Films, Easy Tiger Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1