Poppins sequel has a familiar feel

As we know, Disney has been busy capitalising on its library and the nostalgia for its older films. Live action remakes of animated classics are the order of the day, but the House of Mouse is breaking new ground with its Mary Poppins sequel. Mary Poppins Returns is a sequel to the 1964 movie, and follows the Banks family from the first film, decades after Mary left them.

As you’d expect, director Rob Marshall has made the most of modern filmmaking techniques, and has digitally recreated a number of the environments from the first film but it’s not all about new methods. As you’ll remember, the original Mary Poppins incorporated some animated elements, and Marshall has been diligent in ensuring that the animation in the new film retains the same style. And he’s done that by hiring as many of the original animators as possible. Emily Blunt is playing the title character, and said: “It’s all the hand-drawn animation, and they actually got these 90-yearold animators out of retirement. When you’re doing those sequences, you’re dancing with, like, a tennis ball or a very small dancer in a green-screen suit - like an adult dancer on his knees pretending to be a penguin.”

I’ve maintained a healthy scepticism about the new Mary Poppins, but this is the kind of thing that will win me over. Mary Poppins returns to cinemas here on Friday, December 21.

Dick Van Dyke as Bert, Karen Dotrice as Jane Banks, Matthew Garber as Michael Banks and Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins

Emily Blunt is playing Mary Poppins in the sequel to the 1964 movie