18 out of 18 people found this review helpful.
Go, Dick Van Dyke!
Date of Review: Jul 15, 2000
About a gazillion years after I first saw ?Mary Poppins? as a child, I bought the tape and watched it with my daughter. She likes it on the same level I did as a kid?the magical ways of cleaning up the room, Mary Poppins and others floating through air, the dancing on the rooftops, the carousel horses and so on. It?s a wonderful movie to watch, as a kid or as an adult, with an obvious lesson about spending your time where it matters and loving your kids for who they are.
But as an adult, I?m stunned. Have you noticed how hard Dick Van Dyke works in this film? How is it he didn?t win an Academy Award for his performance, dancing, singing, speaking in a foreign (English) accent while Julie Andrews?not to take anything away from her?won? The guy must have been exhausted by the time the shooting was done. He does all the work while everyone else pretty much stands around looking amazed.
Sorry, I digress. If not the best Disney movie, it?s darned close. The special effects, with Van Dyke and others working with cartoons characters, are far superior to those of Roger Rabbit and other films where actors have to work with animations. The music is superb, topped by the soaring Lets Go Fly a Kite. Rent it or buy it, just go watch it with someone you love. It?s time well spent.
