Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6442 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-03-07
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 133 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
There is only one word that comes close to accurately describing the enchanting Mary Poppins, and that term was coined by the movie itself: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Even at 2 hours and 20 minutes, Disney's pioneering mixture of live action and animation (based on the books by P.L. Travers) still holds kids spellbound. Julie Andrews won an Oscar as the world's most magically idealized nanny ("practically perfect in every way," and complete with lighter-than-air umbrella), and Dick Van Dyke is her clownishly charming beau, Bert the chimney sweep. The songs are also terrific, ranging from bright and cheery ("A Spoonful of Sugar") to dark and cheery (the Oscar-winning "Chim-Chim Cheree") to touchingly melancholy ("Feed the Birds"). Many consider Mary Poppins to be the crowning achievement of Walt Disney's career--and it was the only one of his features to be nominated for a best picture Academy Award until Beauty and the Beast in 1991. --Jim Emerson

Amazon.co.uk Review
A pioneering film within Animation, Musicals and Fantasy, Walt Disney's Mary Poppins is possibly one of the warmest and dearest films ever made. Based on a story by PL Travers we find Julie Andrews on fine form in her debut lead role (for which she would win the "Best Actress" Oscar). She is practically perfectly teamed with Dick Van Dyke as the lovable chimney sweep Burt, whose cockney accent is endearingly inaccurate. Along with a fine supporting cast, where even the child actors hold their own without appearing like stage school wannabes, Poppins and her crew take you on a magical ride through chalk pictures, the roof tops of London and show you that laughter is not always the best medicine (even with a spoon full of sugar) when you can't get down. In total Mary Poppins clocked up five Academy Awards including Best Song and Best Visual Effects and has made it into the staple diet of family viewing across the world.

On the DVD: Mary Poppins has certainly cleaned up a treat, restoring her to 1.85:1 widescreen glory and 5.1 Dolby digital sound--which is guaranteed to be music to your ears. The special features are "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" with the "Sing Along with the Movie" subtitles for all your favourite songs when they appear in the movie and the "I Love to Laugh" game offering Uncle Albert flying high in his parlour once more. "The Movie Magic of Mary Poppins" lets you look behind the scenes at how the magic was done and is fun, informative and easily understandable--pity the same cannot be said about the narrator. "Hollywood goes to a World Premiere" is a warm and amusing reminder about how premieres and stars used to be in 1964. The only disappointment is the lack of commentary--Dick Van Dyke would surely have offered a gem of a cockney voice-over! --Nikki Disney

Synopsis
A magical, musical nanny brings a breath of fresh air into the stuffy Banks household in turn-of-the-century England. Overstuffed with gaiety, this children's fantasy is filled to the brim with wonderful dance numbers and outrageous songs (such as the seemingly unpronounceable 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'). The film's seamless blending of live-action with animation was a marvel in its day. This is Andrews' film debut and Darwell's last film appearance. Academy Award Nominations: 13, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best (Adapted) Screenplay. Academy Awards: 5, including Best Actress--Julie Andrews, Best Original Score, Best Song ('Chim Chim Cher-ee'), Best Editing, Best Special Visual Effects. Gold Collection Edition features 'Hollywood Goes to a World Premiere'.

Customer Reviews

Supercalifragalisticexpealidocious!
This is one of Disney's best films and, from viewing one of the documentaries on the bonus disc, one of his personal favourites. The film beats the stage musical into a cocked hat - I don't think that Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke can be bettered in the musical numbers - the highlights of course being "It's a Jolly Holiday with Mary", "Superfraga(you know the rest)" and "Step in time". This is not just a kids film, it is a bone fide fabulous musical.

The "pop up" facts available on this version are interesting, if not a bit distracting (save them for your second viewing) and the karaoke option is great fun! All the extras, in fact, are very much worth seeing.

I thoroughly recommend this version if you are a Poppins fan!

The movie every kid on earth should wacth
Mary Poppins is undoubtedly among the most terrific stories ever told on celluloid for children. It has it all: comedy, music, values, colours, dreams all packed in 2 hours together with the beautiful Julie Andrews. If you wacthed it when you were young the memory will stay with you for the rest of your life, if you didn't you still have the chanche to come back in time and enjoy it for the first time. GO AND GET A COPY.

Someone wrote that they found it boring, lacking in plot and full of cheesy music. My opinion is that you would have liked it as a kid, but growing up you simply lost your capability of astonishment.

Mary Poppins; practically perfect in every way.
This is one of those films that has stood the test of time and is still entertaining now as it was 40 years ago. Everyone knows the tale of the magical nanny that blows in on the east wind and into the lives of the Banks family of 17 Cherry Tree Lane. Jane and Michael Banks have had a succession of strict nannies as well as a very strict father and a mother who is always out with her fellow suffragettes. Mary Poppins brings magic and fun into the children's lives, something that has been sorely lacking prior to her arrival.
Julie Andrews stars as the nanny and Dick Van Dyke as the lovable cockney Bert, (just forgive his dreadful accent) who always seems to be around at the right time for an adventure. The children find themselves having outings such as jumping into a chalk picture into a cartoon world, having a tea-party on a ceiling and dancing across the rooftops of London. Stuffed to the gills with songs such as 'Spoonful of Sugar', 'Chim Chim Cheree', 'Feed the Birds' and 'Jolly Holiday', this will have you tapping your foot throughout.
This 40th anniversary edition is on 2 discs and features lots of extras such as a documentary, commentary, footage of the premieres etc. The quality of print is very high, the colours have never looked so vibrant and the picture is razor sharp. Wonderful stuff.