Rating: 
Summary: My 3 year old son loves this movie
Review: I bought this dvd as a goofy gift for my husband since he loved this movie as a kid. It has now become a Sunday night tradition at our house to watch it with our 3 and 2 year old sons. My oldest loves the singing and my 2 year old loves to dance along. And no scary scenes to fast forward through. We do skip all the bank scenes as the kids don't get the jokes. All in all a great film.
Rating:
Summary: After Reconsideration, A True Gem!
Review: I hadn't seen "Mary Poppins" since I was a teenager, but for years afterward I reviled the movie, specifically due to Dick Van Dyke's role. I'd considered his portrayal of Bert to be unfocused, and his faux-Cockney accent went right up my back every time I heard it. Recently, however, we purchased a DVD copy of the movie for our two-year-old, who insists upon watching it several times a week, thus forcing me to watch it as well. And after dozens of repeat viewings, I can honestly state that my original assessment of the film and its actors was dead wrong. "Mary Poppins" is absolutely brilliant, the kind of film (cliche coming) "they don't make anymore", a wonderful family film filled with heart, great animation, and wonderful songs. It is rightly called Disney's crowning achievement. And Dick Van Dyke is excellent, acting in his greatest film roles as Bert and Mr. Dawes. A superb song-and-dance man with great comedic timing and a way of mugging for the camera without actually appearing to do so - if Van Dyke had lived in the era of the great MGM musicals of the '30s, we would probably be celebrating him today, and not Fred Astaire. Most of the rest of the cast are outstanding as well. Julie Andrews - well, what more can I say about her? A well-deserved award. David Tomlinson is equally is good as Mr. Banks - the look on his face after Bert's gentle admonishment, when his children show how much they love him by handing over the tuppence . . . that part always gets me. The only character I have problems with is Glynis Johns - sometimes she looks as though she wishes she were in another movie, especially in some of her scenes with Tomlinson. But overall, a great, classic film that has withstood the changes in tastes (when was the last time they made a musical?) and the test of time.
Rating:
Summary: "I Know a Man with a Wooden Leg Named Smith!"...
Review: ...and if you know the punchline to that one, then you've already seen "Mary Poppins", the best live-action movie ever produced by Walt Disney Productions in the master's lifetime. London is brought to the screen beautifully, gray and coal-based but not without parks and trees--but how wonderful everything becomes when we pop off into a sidewalk chalk drawing! Then the English countryside explodes with color and talking/singing livestock, even though penguins aren't quite native to the British Isles.The chalk drawing is courtesy of Bert the erstwhile chimney sweep and it's he also who introduces us to Cherry Lane and its unhappy inhabitants, the Banks family. Unhappy because the two children Michael and Jane are being neglected while the parents pursue a banking job and the suffragette movement. What's needed is a good nanny to take things in hand, and right on cue, down lands Mary Poppins on the doorstep. Michael and Jane are convinced she has magical powers and even magical friends, but Father is convinced otherwise, although he can never best her in conversation. How the Banks family get in touch with each other and the power of familial love is the crux of the matter, and it couldn't happen without the intervention of Mary Poppins. Julie Andrews is a stand-out in her debut role, and never looked lovelier than here in her dark wig with a proper amount of hair--not that close cropped signature hairstyle she's had since "The Sound of Music" that does nothing for her. She's a prim know it all with a lovely soprano voice, who slyly indulges in magic from time to time. Dick Van Dyke has a double role as Bert, her roguish beau and as old Mr. Dawes, the greedy head of the bank where Mr. Banks works. David Tomlinson is great as the civil servant dad, the sort of fellow cariacatured by John Cleese so well. Glynnis Johns has less to do as Mother, but still good. And other supporting roles amply filled by Reta Shaw, Hermione Baddeley, Arthur Treacher, Ed Wynn, Elsa Lanchester, and Jane Darwell (in a nonspeaking role as the Bird Woman of St. Paul's, her last role). And not to forget those wonderful child actors playing Michael and Jane! Not a moppet between them. "Mary Poppins" is a delight from start to finish. Set yourself about finding it and pop it in the VCR asap.
Rating:
Summary: Disney's Greatest Theatrical Achievement!
Review: Floating in on the East Wind, the mysterious and magical Mary Poppins arrives at the door of the Banks family to take on the position of nanny to the two Banks children, Jane and Michael. Their workaholic father and politically preoccupied mother have no time to waste raising their children, nor do they feel they need to. It's simply another position to hire for as far as they're concerned. But Mary Poppins puts her magical powers to good use by teaching the Banks parents that missing out on their children's childhood is a mistake they'll never be able to take back. Along with her Chimney sweeping friend, Bert, Mary takes the children into a magical, cartoon world within a chalk pavement drawing, where they attend a fair, ride in a horse race, and take part in a fox hunt. Later, they have a tea party on the ceiling at Uncle Albert's and play Step In Time on the London rooftops with a wild band of Chimney Sweeps. But when father tries to teach the children some responsibility by taking them on a field trip to the Bank where he works, his lack of understanding and experience causes things to get out of hand, and Mr. Banks is fired soon after. It's only after a conversation with Bert, the surprisingly wise chimney sweep, that Mr. Banks learns the error of his ways, and how Mary Poppins' only intentions were to help bring the family together. All works out in the end though, and the rest is Disney history!
Hailed as Walt's greatest theatrical achievement, one certainly can't argue the point after seeing this film. It's "practically perfect in every way!" The Sherman Brothers outdid themselves, as usual, in the songwriting tasks, and the casting is some of Disney's best. The beautiful backdrops are completely amazing, especially after watching the behind the scenes featurette to see how they were accomplished. There simply isn't ANYTHING bad to say about this astounding picture! The extras are quite nice too. You get the behind the scenes featurette I just mentioned, a theatrical trailer, a trivia game, and footage of the Hollywood premiere of the film. Sure, there could have been a lot more extras, but for a Disney DVD this is actually quite a bit. If you don't already have this film on DVD, you should be kicking yourself right now! So go out and get it!
Rating: 
Summary: A DVD review
Review: This is a 5-star movie crammed into a 1-star DVD. If you're renting a movie, you only plan on seeing it once... when you buy a movie, you have bought the right to see it whenever you please for as long as you want. This DVD has FORCED COMMERCIALS! You can not skip them and you are forced to fast-forward through them. Instead of endearing you to the movies featured in the trailers, you eventually get so mad that the thought of those films makes your blood boil... especially if you already have purchased those films on DVD and you don't need to be coerced into buying them in the first place. There is no excuse for this. Disney should offer refunds and/or replacement discs to those who purchased them on good faith. In addition to the forced commercials, the tech specs are misleading and plain wrong. While the film is widescreen, it is NOT anamorphic as is claimed... this means that while it is in letterbox format, it is not in proper proportion and the images are slightly distorted. Just throwing a movie on a round disk does not a DVD make and this is proof. The movie is fantastic despite these shortcomings... but as the title of this review states - this is a DVD review, not the film. I'd advise waiting until a collector's edition comes out. A collector's edition is likely to contain more features such as interviews with the cast, out-takes and scenes from the Oscars for that year... and (one can only pray) no forced commercials.
Rating: 
Summary: LOVE the movie, HATE watching previews EVERY TIME!
Review: No doubt this is a fantastic movie. Ask anyone. But there's one thing about this production that makes me want to break the disc over my knee: Disney has encoded this disc so that every time you watch it, YOU ARE FORCED TO SIT THROUGH THE ...PREVIEWS! The DVD standard allows the producer to prevent viewers from activating certain functions at certain times (to make a DVD-based game, for example, play according to the game rules). But, aside from the FBI warning segment, this is the first movie I've encountered that WON"T EVEN LET YOU STOP THE DISC during the previews. You can't press MENU to get to other features, and you can't press STOP. You're stuck, basically, with the temptation to press EJECT. Fortunately, the production engineers at Disney missed one trick; you can at least Fast Forward through the previews. This is a shade better than turning off the TV and waiting it out. C'mon, Disney. This isn't a rental -- I bought your disc! And you make me sit through 5 minutes of previews for things that I either: own, or choose not to own (thank you very much). I understand Disney's desire to "cross sell" their new stuff based on their old stuff. And I don't mind watching previews, but -- every time I play the disc? Shame on you!! After you've wasted five minutes, of your life, enjoy the movie. It's a treasure and I wish someone would make another like it. But not on a disc like this!
Rating:
Summary: Step in Time
Review: Being a Julie Andrews fan, this is one of the first movies I watched with her in it. This is where Julie made her Step in Time. Disney's eye for talent was magnificent. Miss Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, and Glynis Jones were the only people imaginable for the parts. The movie was made from Walt's favorite book of the same name. PL Travers wrote the books, I highly recommend reading them. This movie really is Disney's masterpeice, mixing live-action with animation. Wonderful music scores, wonderful storyline, all-in-all Mary Poppins is 'Practically perfect in everyway.'
Rating:
Summary: An end of an era.
Review: Probably one of the greatest works of the late Walt Disney himself. After this film the Disney studio completely lost their touch in creating a great film."Mary Poppins" is everything that is fun and is wonderfully acted by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. The colors, the music score, the story, costumes, set design is all a wonderful tribute to the greatest creative artist of all times, Walt Disney. The likes of him will never be seen again. The DVD version is also wonderful, the quality is excellent and is still one of my favorite films of all times. This is truly a classic for both young and old.
Rating:
Summary: Let's Go Fly a Kite!
Review: This movie has a great soundtrack!! The songs are all beautiful and easy to sing-along with. This classic film can be appreciated by both parents and children. Julie Andrews is the perfect magical nanny, and Dick Van Dyke is endearing as the multi-talented Chimney Sweep, Burt. This is a very classy movie with singing, dancing, some animation, and family values. 5 Stars!
Rating:
Summary: I loved it as a child. I love it more as an adult
Review: Like many folks here, I saw this one when I was very young--right after second grade, I think. By the time it came to the theater in my little rural hometown a year after its release, Julie Andrews had already won an Oscar for her work as the title character. Not that that mattered. To the kids in my class at school, this was the hot, must-see movie of that summer--the way "Star Wars" would be in the next decade. I can still remember laughing over Dick Van Dyke tap-dancing with the penguins and crying during the "Bird Woman" song (which was as much social commentary as a sentimental tune about our feathered friends). I became a fan of Dick Van Dyke's show after this--he basically won my heart as Bert--the jack-of-all-trades special friend to Mary and the Banks' children. For the rest of that summer, man, I WAS Mary Poppins. My mom bought me a record of all the songs, I used her old Avon sample case as my carpetbag, and I acted out the movie every day. If VCRs and DVDs had been everyday household items then, I would have asked for "Mary Poppins" for Christmas. (It would have been worn out by Easter, most likely!) As happens to children almost overnight, my interests changed over the next year and I sort of got over my fixation with Mary, Bert, et. al. After all, Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke went on to other things after that, so why not me? And then in the 90s, Disney re-released "Mary Poppins" as a video. I bought it for my daughter (or at least that was the excuse I gave my husband). Though she was too young to understand everything in the movie--just as I was the first time I saw it--she, too, loved "Mary Poppity" as she called it. We must have played it at least 3 times a week during the first summer we had it, while living in temporary housing and waiting for our house to be built. She, too, loves to act this one out and to sing the songs for hours on end. The apple does not fall far from the tree, I guess. As for me. . .it's all I remembered it to be, and then some. For starters, the music. . .what was missing from the old record I had were the overture, underscores, and closing score--they were beautifully put together. And the little details are delightful, too. Among them: Mrs. Banks, who is a feminist (at least when Mr. Banks isn't around) wears bloomers--and later in the movie, we discover Mary Poppins does, too. (don't blink, or you'll miss seeing them) The relationship between Mary and Bert. . .as a child I thought they were probably a couple but never had time to see each other because of their work. Now? I think they would be a couple if they got a lucky break. Let's face it--she's a nanny and he's a lower-level tradesman. Even if they did get married, in 1910, the realities of British society were such that if you weren't part of the gentry, you worked for a living, and changing your "class" or status didn't happen. A shame, because their characters obviously love children very much. So they do the next best thing--work together as a team to bring happiness to British middle-class homes--mainly by shaking up the parents. Mary was no ordinary nanny, but Bert made her an even better one--he was the idea man, and she handled the implementation. And therein is the secret: this movie was not as much about Mary, Bert, and the kids as it is about Mary, Bert, and Mr. and Mrs. Banks. It's when Mr. Banks realizes that his children don't need a nanny to be happy--they just need their parents to love them and give them their attention--that he also becomes the man that the Bank needs. The scene between Bert and Mr. Banks at the house is one of the best in the movie. As for the ending? When I was a child, I didn't understand it. Now, as an adult, I do. The mission was accomplished, and it was time to move on. As one of the main characters said, all was as it should be. So is this movie. Enjoy it with your own daughter. . .
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