Common Sense Media Review
By S. Jhoanna Robledo
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sweet peek behind Poppins story, with very dark moments.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
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Saving Mr. Banks
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 26 parent reviews
What's the Story?
P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), the notoriously picky author of Mary Poppins, is fiercely protective of her literary creation, and has little interest in letting Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) turn it into one of his cheerful family films, especially if there will be any frolicking or animated penguins. The film is interspersed with scenes from Travers' childhood in Australia, as her beloved father (Colin Farrell) gradually succumbs to alcoholism, an episode that still haunts her and has clearly influenced her writing. SAVING MR. BANKS charts the evolution of this father and daughter relationship, as Disney slowly wins her over and convinces Travers that her cherished character will be safe in his hands. Even with cartoon penguins.
Is It Any Good?
Saving Mr. Banks is lovely in many ways, including its lead actors, Thompson and Hanks, who are irresistibly winning. But it's a tale of two stories, both of which are indulged, making for a tonally uneven film. To start, the movie Mary Poppins is a fairy tale. The story behind the movie resembles a fairy tale of sorts here, too, as the prickly writer is shown gradually lowering her guard and letting the talented studio writers and Disney win her over for a happily ever after. But a happily ever after it apparently wasn't. The real Travers was famously displeased with the movie version of her book, and it appears the fight may have been more contentious than what we see. And the film ends swiftly in a somewhat saccharine moment, diminishing the potency of previous battles shown leading up to the standoff.
More problematic is how the film mixes scenes from Travers' Australian childhood that are melancholy, bordering on despairing, with comedic moments capturing the Travers-Disney tug-of-war. Had the filmmakers committed to one (the negotiations between Travers and Disney) or the other (Travers' hardscrabble past) more fully, it would've coalesced into a greater whole. A spoonful of sugar turned into a cupful here, undoing the good the medicine would have done.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Travers' character. Why is Travers so protective of Mary Poppins? How much of the story seems to be based on her own life? What do you think she learns from the process?
Do you think the movie is entirely factual? How can you find out what the truth is? Is there always one real truth or does it depend on perspective or opinion?
If you wrote a story that was going to be turned into a movie, what aspects would you be willing to change -- or not change?
Is this a movie for kids? Is there anything that kids can learn from this movie? Does anything touch on issues that kids aren't ready to handle?
Movie Details
- In theaters: December 13, 2013
- On DVD or streaming: March 18, 2014
- Cast: Emma Thompson , Paul Giamatti , Tom Hanks
- Director: John Lee Hancock
- Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Book Characters , History
- Run time: 125 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG-13
- MPAA explanation: thematic elements including some unsettling images
- Last updated: July 30, 2024
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