Mary Poppins Returnsis just around the corner and it’s a bold sequel that is going to pick up following the events of the 1964 Disney classic. But don’t expect this to just be a rehash for modern audiences, as director Rob Marshall has crafted something quite different. Case in point,Supercalifragilisticexpialidociousisn’t going to be featured in the movie.
The original Mary Poppins includedseveral classic musical numbers, but perhaps none more iconic than the nonsensical, totally catchy and delightfulSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious. To that point, it’s a bit surprising that the creative team didn’t decide to perhaps update the tune for the sequel. But as screenwriter David Magee (Finding Neverland) explains, it was all about crafting a new story. Here’s what he had to say about it.
“The truth is, from the very beginning, we knew how loved the first film was, and we wanted to pay homage to it and make reference to it, but we wanted to make sure that when you started our film, you were watching a new story, a new installment. The hope is that once we’ve gotten you fully into our world, we could use little tiny references or turns of phrase in music to remind you of a connection, but not constantly rely on the original to say, ‘See? See?!’ We thought it was more respectful to earn your interest in this movie, and then make it a much fuller experience by connecting it to the old film.”
A movie like this does present an interesting creative challenge. Younger audience members need to be able to watch this without necessarily having an attachment to the original, while those who love the original need to feel as though it’s a part of that same world. These little nods and references might be the best way to accomplish that. And it’s pretty tough to just shoehornSupercalifragilisticexpialidociousinto conversation in a natural way.
Really though,much of this is on the shoulders of Emily Blunt, as she has to convince everyone that she is Mary Poppins, following in the footsteps of Julie Andrews. No easy task. Producer Marc Platt, who has also worked on successful musical such asLa La LandandInto the Woods, echoed the sentiments expressed by David Magee.
“We wanted tocreate the story with our own languageand in our own way with a nod to the past, but to make it fresh and interesting and stand on its own. The challenge in creating a new score for this is to, like the rest of the film, put a foot in the original, but very much [let it be] its own thing with its own personality.”
This year, sinceDisneydoesn’t have a Star Wars movie arriving in December, it’sMary Poppins Returnsthat they’re banking on to bring in the holiday bucks. Aside from Emily Blunt, they also have Lin-Manuel Miranda to help add to the overall appeal.Mary Poppins Returnsarrives in theaters on December 19. This was originally reported byEntertainment Weekly.
