Mary Poppins Returns was a magical experience!
It all started at Disney Studios in Burbank, the very place Walt’s 1964 Mary Poppins came to life. Disney magic was all around as I poured through their archives with director Rob Marshall. Imagine seeing Peter Ellenshaw’s spellbinding original glass paintings and sketches! We even saw many of the original props...I never dreamed that I would be holding Mary Poppins’ carpet bag from the original film... Amazing!
This film is not a remake, it is a completely new original story with a new cast and fantastic new music and dancing! Mary Poppins Returns is set twenty-five years later. Michael and Jane have grown up and Michael has children of his own. It is 1934; England is deep into its financial slump. The bank is about to foreclose on the beautiful family house at 17 Cherry Tree Lane.
It’s in this troubling real world that the story begins. We really do need Mary Poppins to save the day!
A brand-new story requires a new design. Whilst Tony Walton’s 1963 design was perfection for that story, Mary Poppins Returns required a much more gritty version of London in the thirties. “Dipped in reality,” said Rob.
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