Mary Poppins returns

Even without enough ‘Kite’-class tunes to soar over the ’ouses, there’s no cause to hate Poppins’ return. If the mid-section’s breathless arrangements over-crowd the melodic mix, frisky wordplay and poignancy pop out elsewhere. Ben Whishaw’s ‘A Conversation’ is a fragile beauty, while Emily Blunt peaks on ‘The Place Where Lost Things Go’, brisk vowels melting warmly.