Practically perfect in every way, Mary Poppins is back, to help the next generation of the Banks family find the joy and wonder missing in their lives...and to remind us as well!

 
Michael Banks was just a child when the practically-perfect nanny Mary Poppins first visited the Banks home, but he is now a grown man with children of his own. A struggling artist temporarily employed by Fidelity Fiduciary Bank—the same financial institution where his father and grandfather worked before him—Michael lives at 17 Cherry Tree Lane with his children: Annabel, John and Georgie. Times are tough in Depression-era London. It’s the 1930s, and the city is in the midst of the “Great Slump,” so money is tight, people are anxious and the future is uncertain.
 
The family is struggling to cope with the recent death of Michael’s wife, the children’s mother, and the house is rundown and in a constant state of chaos, despite the best efforts of their inefficient yet well-meaning and warmhearted housekeeper, Ellen. With the harsh reality of the times and the burden of their loss weighing heavily on the family, the children find themselves taking on additional responsibilities around the house…and growing up much too fast in the process.
 
Michael’s sister Jane has inherited her mother’s enthusiasm for good causes, and, while busy herself promoting workers’ rights, tries to help Michael and his family every chance she gets. The chairman of the bank, Mr. Wilkins—who appears to be a congenial and altruistic mentor to Michael but is actually duplicitous and shrewd—is in the process of foreclosing on the Banks home, sending the already frazzled Michael into a further tailspin.
 
Fortunately, the winds begin to change, and the enigmatic governess whose unique magical skills can turn any ordinary task into a fantastic adventure, enters the lives of the Banks family once again, having not aged a single day.
 
Teaming up with an old friend, Jack, a charming and eternally optimistic street lamplighter, they take the Banks children on a series of whimsical adventures and introduce them to colorful characters like Mary’s eccentric Cousin Topsy and Jack’s lovable band of leeries, bringing life, love and laughter back into their lives.      –Walt Disney Films
 


 
“We tried to keep the essence of PL Travers’ work by embracing the classic nature and beauty of the books and continuing the legacy of the beautiful worlds she created,” Producer John DeLuca notes. “We live in a time when people need some hope. Everyone could use a Mary Poppins in their own lives right now.”
 
Director Rob Marshall explains, “It’s essential to see things from a different angle. Mary Poppins understands that and helps the children understand that as well.”  He adds, “This is probably the most personal film I’ve ever done because of the profound nature of what it says about finding the child inside and keeping hope alive in a very dark time. It also feels especially timely to me because of the current world climate that we are in.”
 
The mulit-hyphenate/multi-talented/multi-award winning Director turned to his long-time collaborators, the Oscar-winning team [CHICAGO] Production Designer John Myhre and Set Decorator Gordon Sim SDSA International, to help him bring alive his dream of creating an original film musical...an homage to the classic movie musicals and a touchstone for our times.
 
“This is clearly a delicate time for the world,” the director says. “People feel unsure and vulnerable, so it’s important to have something that can lift us out of our day-to-day existence and remind us that there is still hope and wonder in the world.”