Movie Review: Saving Mr. Banks [2013]

Saving Mr. Banks is warm and beautiful story about author of Mary Poppins - P. L. Travers (Emma Thompson) and creator of movie with the same name - Walt Disney (Tom Hanks). It brings all good memories, great feeling and enjoyment ever experienced while watching or reading Mary Poppins (never, ever just Mary). 

Movie focuses on a meeting between Travers and Disney after 20 years when Walter asked for adaptation rights to P.L. for the first time. Mrs Travers, who's been quite stubborn  during negotiations, decides to herself participate in movie-making process to assure that her favorite Marry Poppins is properly adopted. And if she likes working with Disney, she has promised to grant the rights for production. The problem is that she's not an easy person to work with and Walter has his own vision of filming it, which he might not be willing to change.

And they meet you. You can't imagine how different those two people are. Pamela Travers, being a true British person, expects to be treated with a great respect - calling her Mrs Travers and talking to her in a most polite & official way. Mr. Disney, on the contrary, is the most open and sociable person, who is friend to every person working around him, only such a happy man could make the happiest films in history.

Saving Mr. Banks brilliantly explores the back story of both creating the movie Marry Poppins and writing the book Marry Poppins. It changes scenes from past to present, introducing Banks family, Mr. Banks and even "actual Marry".

Disney: "I brought you all the way out here for monetary gain. Had a wager with the boys that I couldn't get you on a ride. I just won twenty bucks!"

Director John Lee Hancock brings a brilliant story on the screen, introducing our most favorite characters and people as realistically as they are. Both actors, Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks deserve credits for brilliant portrayal  of their characters. British actress is absolutely fantastic as stubborn and demanding writer of Mary Poppins to is just handing over her "child" to another person, who seems to care less about who really Mary Poppins is.

On the other hand, Hanks is the best Disney. He is funny, friendly, caring and just a happy person, who has made a promise to their children to make Mary Poppins fly out the book pages and tries not to break the word. However, P.L. does not help much, she is consistent and not an easy woman to say YES.

Both actors deliver one of the finest performances this year. Especially, Thompson, who's very frank and emotional performance just steals every moment in the film. The rest of cast, including Colin Farrel, Paul Gimatti, Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak are no less good than main characters.

Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith also deserve respecting credits for writing a pretty original and very interesting story, with some hilarious, smart, sad and charming dialogues. The lines of Disney and Travers are always so dinamic and real that now I think real Walter and Pamela would have talked that way.

Saving Mr. Banks has some marvelous designs, spectacularly capturing atmosphere of 60's. The music is also good and I liked some tunes from Mary Poppins movie, it actually helps to relate this film to the old one.

For me, Saving Mr. Banks is a good movie to watch, awakening very sincere and childish emotions in me. It has this charm that makes me want to listen to Disney/Travers dialogues again and again. Definitely worth of giving a try. Absolutely recommended.