Mary Poppins Returns

I went to this movie twice in the theater (so far!). Mary Poppins Returns follows The Banks kids from movie one all grown up. Michael Banks has 3 children and after his wife passing he is struggling to pay a loan he took out against his house. The movie is 2 hours and 10 mins of typical Mary Poppins fun and music tied up with saving their house from the big bad wolf.

I took my 2 nieces and 1 nephew the first time I saw it. It was Christmas Eve, which may be why my 4 year old nephew and 6 year old niece had a hard time sitting through it. My 9 year old niece really enjoyed it though. The 2nd time, I brought my other 9 year old niece and she was up dancing through all the songs (thank goodness we were in the back and there was only 4 others in the theater! lol).

I absolutely love the sound track. A few of my favorites are

1. Can You Imagine That
• This song gets stuck in my head all day long! It is super cute! My niece sings it with me
2. Turning Turtle
• Who doesn't like a crazy Meryl Streep? She plays Mary Poppins cousin Topsy and every 2nd Wednesday her life gets topsy turny (or as she calls it turning turtle). The songs is cute and crazy!
3. Trip A Light Fantastic
• This song is similar to Burt's Step in Time from the 1st movie but follows people who light the sidewalk lamps instead of chimney sweeps. This song has a lot of dancing and silly words.
4. A Cover is Not the Book
• This is a great song for a good lesson learned. It's pretty much about not judging a book by it's cover. It ties in nicely with the wolf in the scene. Mary and Jack sing about different stories. It's another fun song with lots a dancing!

I will most definitely be buying this movie when it comes out on DVD/Streaming. I would recommend seeing it in theaters if you have older children. I feel like it was a little long (and maybe a little slow) for a 4 year old. He may sit through it later at home if he can play with his toys at the same time though.

SPOILER BELOW........

The one thing I wasn't happy with was Dick Van Dyke's part. Disney had the perfect opportunity to bring him back as Burt but he came back as a banker. I loved that he was in it though, he even danced a little! But, had I have written him in, I would have had him come down the chimney at the bank with the burned up page from the shares ledger, not as the bad guy's uncle! He came back as Mr Dawes Jr and saved the day though, so it all turned out for the Banks family!

I also wish some of the other actors/actresses made a cameo. I know they are all older now, but they could have come back as someone else like Dick Van Dyke did and not necessarily their original part.