Pocahontas and The Story of Mary Poppins - Saving Mr. Banks

12/24/13 Pocahontas, Best Original Song, Best Original Musical Score, 1995

I think this was the second time I saw Pocahontas because apparently it didn't stick the first time. Pocahontas tells something resembling the story of the Jamestown settlement in the new colony of Virginia, and the meeting of the English settlers and the Powhatan Indians. I must have been doing my best imitation of a crab-ass while watching this, but I didn't care (and I should care, I majored in American history for crying out loud and love that part of the country) about Mel Gibson prancing around the Virginia forest as John Smith (actually an animated John Smith). It's always nice to see strong female characters in film, animated or otherwise, but this movie didn't do anything for me. The requisite 'bad guy' Governor Ratcliffe (voiced by David Ogden Stiers) was so-so is greedy and has come to Virginia to find gold; John Smith comes to help fight the "savages" only to fall in love with one of them, Pocahontas (Irene Bedard). Pocahontas won for Best Original Song and Best Original Musical Score beating out Randy Newman for the Toy Story soundtrack and "You've Got a Friend in Me" and I think that was a mistake. I'd be willing to guess more people know "You've Got a Friend in Me" compared to "Colors of the Wind". There are a lot better animated films out there (I think even the animals were pretty lame) and if you want a strong female character, check out Brave or Jasmine in Aladdin (don't get me wrong, Pocahontas is great character, the vehicle doesn't do her justice).

12/25/13 Saving Mr. Banks, not yet nominated, 2013

There is pretty much universal agreement that Saving Mr. Banks will receive a few Oscar nominations, so I feel safe in reviewing it and joining the crowds in praising the movie. Saving Mr. Banks tells the story of how Walt Disney brought our beloved Mary Poppins to the screen. We learn that Disney (Tom Hanks) pursued P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) twenty years for the film rights to Mary Poppins. Hanks plays Disney with an ebullient determination, he believes in the world he has created where dreams come true. Travers is portrayed as a woman fighting to control everything that she possibly can; she is very tightly wound and doesn't break into a smile very often, so when she does, you feel like she means it. There is a whole childhood full of reasons why she must be in command and those are shown to us in flashbacks. Normally I have little patience for flashbacks because they can be used as a crutch and detract from the story, but in this case, I think they keep the viewer interested and emotionally invested in the story of Mrs. Travers (as she insists on being called, not Pam or Pamela). Travers grew up in Australia and idolized her father played by Colin Farrell; her father had a bit of a romantic spirit and shared that with his daughter; he also had a drinking problem which played havoc with his career as a banker and his marriage. Travers' view of Mary Poppins seems to differ greatly from Walt and his creative team's, they see the whimsy and potential for fun while Travers has a more serious take. This makes for some pretty funny scenes (there are real tapes made during these working sessions that were used as reference). Thompson is so restrained in her portrayal, I felt like I could see her as Travers struggling to keep a lid on her emotions and protect this woman she created. I thought she was marvelous, and one of my favorite moments of the film comes in the second half of the film and she shows her humanity showing some empathy and encouragement for her chauffeur, played by Paul Giammatti. You get the feeling she doesn't do that very often, so it probably means a lot.While I think this was a fabulous film, telling the story of one of the most beloved film characters and the making of the movie, this is not for little kids, it is not actually Mary Poppins. While there is no violence and hardly any swearing, there are some very heavy moments, including an attempted suicide. I don't know that kids need to see that. I went the my movie-viewing friends and Esteban who is 14 actually liked it a lot more than he thought he would (we usually go see super hero movies, so this was a bit of a risk). It is a fabulous movie and very eye-opening, and it made me love Mary Poppins even more.