Julie Andrews is Mary Poppins, a magical, musical, nanny, with rosy red cheeks, hired to control a couple of kiddies who are naughty in a turn-of-the-20th-century upper-class type way (they chase kites so are home late for tea).

English accent warning: Dick Van Dyke's impersonation of cockeRRNey could do with some work. Some pretty dull finance speak in the Bank, tuppence (2p) isn't worth as much today as it was back then (although it would be funny trying to open a bank account with it). Do not try dancing on roof tops at home.

"I always found suffragettes completely beguiling... did they all wear bustles like that?"

"Well, if you allow a man to fire a cannon on the top of your house what do you expect?"

"Oh! The life of a chimney sweep looked so much fun!"

"It is all very clean and nice to start with and then those chimney sweeps ruined it for me. A messy, dusty, movie I had to go home to shower for a whole hour. "

"I can never watch the 'feed the birds' song without a tear coming to my eye. Call me an old softy!"

Mary Poppins leaves because the wind changes... The father (George Banks (played by David Tomlinson)) gets sacked from the bank (he gets his job back at the end). He recognises that he has been too grumpy with his children (Jane Banks (Karen Dotrice), Michael Banks (Matthew Garber)) and changes on the advice of a chimney sweep, don't laugh it could have happened in 1910... Chim chim...

One of those wonderful childhood movies which is watchable as an adult today, although it does have some slow moments in which the children may need to be entertained.

The cartoon and live action pieces are memorable and tuneful and if the slow bits were taken out this would be an OK modern movie. Thank goodness this movie is not too sugary sweet. The movie's heart is in the right place: it's sort of educational in a light-hearted frivolous kind of way.

Julie Andrews was pretty much perfectly cast in the roll. Dick Van Dyke was also well cast, although his accent sounds funny to an English ear, not quite cockney (which he is supposed to be) and not quite not American.

"A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."

"In every job that's to be done there is an element of fun..."

Roast cartoon penguin.

On a rocking horse (without a cushion).

The world has never been the same since supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

The chimney sweeps do not disappoint.

4

Mary Poppins rides again, Mary Poppins goes to Monte Carlo.

Yes, she's a bit of a bossy boots...

A nice movie, peppered with memorable scenes. A little too pro officialdom perhaps but everything turns out nicely in the end. Nice tunes, cutting edge (for their time) cartoons and live action and Julie Andrews could not have been bettered.

April 10, 2004