Disney's 100th anniversary is this year, and to celebrate, I'm going to tell the story of this legendary animation company over a yearlong period.
Walt Disney had always envisioned making Mary Poppins into a movie ever since the success o…
Disney's 100th anniversary is this year, and to celebrate, I'm going to tell the story of this legendary animation company over a yearlong period.
Walt Disney had always envisioned making Mary Poppins into a movie ever since the success of Snow White back in 1937-1938, ever since his two daughters suddenly got him interested in the idea when they were reading one of the Mary Poppins books by P.L. Travers. He loved the idea, and approached P.L. Travers, real name Helen Gogh, for the rights to make the movie, but P.L. Travers was dragged into this kicking and screaming. She did not think Walt Disney was capable of such a feat, that of a live action production, which Walt Disney wanted to make it as. I guess if you make cartoons in Hollywood for so long, people are gonna look at you as just the guy who makes cartoons. P.L. Travers didn't like what Walt Disney stood for, the chipperness, all-American innocence, cartoons, songs, she didn't want to be involved in this. It wasn't until Walt went to her apartment in London and told her his life's story in a way that would connect with her, matching his own childhood struggles with that of P.L. Travers, that she finally caved in and gave him the rights to make the movie. Inevitably, she hated the final product. She must have gone around in the press telling everyone how much she hated the film.
Julie Andrews was approached by Walt Disney after a performance of the hit play Camelot to star in Mary Poppins in the lead role. Julie might have been skeptical, but not quite as snobbish or snooty as P.L. Travers was. She ended up coming on board because her husband at the time, Tony Walton, was hired to not only design the costumes, but also be the defacto production designer, and she couldn't bear separation. While other leading men in Hollywood were considered for the role of Bert, Dick Van Dyke was given the role because he was such a hilarious knock-out on his hit TV show The Dick Van Dyke Show. Instead of traditional scrip..
