Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

My Review

The wonderful world of Disney in the early 1960’s is recreated in “Saving Mr. Banks.” This Walt Disney-BBC co-production tells the story of Walt’s attempts over twenty years to obtain the screen rights to the children’s book series “Mary Poppins” from author P. L. Travers. There are also flashbacks to Travers’ childhood in Queensland, Australia. The screenplay by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith cleverly integrates the two eras, expertly directed by John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side” 2009).

The cast is headed by Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as Pam Travers. While not doing an exact imitation of Disney, Hanks does capture the essence of Disney’s personality and some of his Midwestern way of speaking. Thompson is simply outstanding as the eccentric Travers. Co-stars include Paul Giamatti as the chauffeur, Bradley Whitford as screenwriter Don DaGradi, Colin Farrell as Travers’ father, Ruth Wilson as her mother, Jason Schwartzman as Richard M. Sherman, B. J. Novak as Robert B. Sherman, Rachel Griffiths as Aunt Helen the model for Mary Poppins, Annie Rose Buckley as young Pam, Kathy Baker as Walt’s assistant, Melanie Paxson as Walt’s secretary, Ronan Vibert as Pam’s literary agent, Kristopher Kyer as Dick Van Dyke, and Victoria Summer as Julie Andrews.

The watchable, informative, and entertaining “Saving Mr. Banks” was a big hit at the box office for Walt Disney Pictures, BBC Films, Hopscotch Features, Essential Media and Entertainment, Ruby Films, Walt Disney Studios and Motion Pictures, and The Walt Disney Company. It was primarily filmed at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, with some scenes shot in Disneyland, L. A. County Arboretum, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, and Ontario International Airport. It received one Oscar nod for Best Original Score (Thomas Newman).