Finish the Story

Today would have been Walt Disney’s 112^th birthday so I went along to see Saving Mr. Banks in honour of the day. Like when I went to see Planes there was very few people in the cinema, three to be exact but I put this down to it being a weekday.

The movie is essentially about the Disney company securing the rights to the Mary Poppins story. Following the back story of the author P.L. Travers and how some of the characters are reflective of her family members. Ms. Travers travels to California to work through the Mary Poppins script with the writers and music composers but wants no music, no animation and pretty much every idea they come up with she dismisses. Poor Walt Disney has to stand by and watch as the rights move further and further away from his grasp. It had taken him 20 years to get Travers to travel to America in the first place after he made a promise to his daughters to turn their favourite book into a movie.

While in California Travers seems cold and somewhat stuck up but is haunted by memories of the past that she has tried to keep hidden. Walt Disney realises slowly that there may be some other reason behind her refusal to let him make her Mary Poppins into a movie and once she leaves California follows her to London in one last attempt to secure the rights to the story.  He delves into a story of his own childhood in his attempt to convince her to let him make the movie. Telling her of how his father treated him as a child and how he still thought his father was an amazing man and that her Mr. Banks would be seen as an amazing man in the eyes of everyone that sees it. He urges her to finish the real life Mr. Banks story in a positive way and not to let her past memories stop Mary Poppins from coming to life on the big screen for millions of children and adults around the world.

Finally she gives in and signs over the rights and next thing is a big fancy movie premiere with all the Disney characters, Mickey, Pluto, Goofy and the big happy ending.

It is a great movie. I loved the simple parts of the Sherman brothers sitting at the piano trying to work out the music and on a dark night when they thought all was lost with the movie they came up with Feed the Birds.  It’s so pretty. Walt Disney’s determination to fulfil his dreams was inspiring as well. He had so many knock backs and yet he never gave up on his dreams until he could make them a reality. I also love the fact you get to see Disneyland in part of the movie and the story of one horse on the carousel being Walt Disney’s wife’s favourite horse.

I laughed, I cried, I sang along with this movie. Loved it. Every Disney fan needs to see it.