I'm probably going to get angry just writing about this woman.
Mrs. Travers, played by Emma Thompson, is the author of the beloved Mary Poppins series of children's books and proud owner of a stick so far up her ass that it has long since ceased to be a stick and has grown into a mighty oak tree. From her first moments on screen, Travers manages to alienate herself with the audience as well as every single person she encounters. Travers has been resisting the efforts of Disney to buy the rights to her books for 20 years but finally needs the money. Travers flies to California to meet with Walt Disney and the writing team to work on the script for the upcoming movie.
From the start, it is clear that Mrs. Travers has no clue what the film is supposed to be, insisting on "no animation" and "no songs." She also does her best to drive the Disney team insane so that the movie is never made, insisting things such as "no red" in the film. This, however, is merely an accentuation of her normal unbearable personality. Walt Disney, played by Tom Hanks, suffers every torment of the author because he made a two decade-old promise to his daughters to bring Mary Poppins to the big screen. Walt is portrayed as a childish, energetic business man who, above all, truly believes that he is creating magic in the form of his theme parks and movies. No mention is made of Disney's antisemitism.
It is not a sin for a movie to attempt to be Oscar-bait if the production can truly capture the hearts and minds of the audience and make adults feel young again, children feel inspired, etc., etc., but "Saving Mr. Banks" falls a bit short. Primarily, the attempt at creating an award-winning movie is far too transparent by the fact that Tom Hanks is in it and it's a movie about making a Disney movie. I can hear the accolades now. Regardless, Emma Thompson's character is not only unlikable but impossible to relate to due to her commandeering manner coupled with latent senility and relentless criticisms. It's like they tried to personify everyone's mother, but rather than the loving figure we come to respect in adulthood, they show the mad tyrant we see as a child, but without the part where she feeds and provides for us. Tom Hanks isn't much better, as his character is little more than a lavish business man who happened to create a product that is very close to the hearts of children and adults in the audience. The actual portrayal is a paper-thin character with a funny voice. Without Tom Hanks filling the shoes, the character of Disney would have seemed like a sentimental banker who tricked a starving writer into forking over the rights to his movie. Though both actors fill their roles to perfection, the roles themselves are highly flawed.
The main backbone of the story centers around Travers' relationship with her father back in Australia. Her father, like Mr. Banks, was a banker, but the similarities seem to stop there which is why it seems odd that this man inspired the character. Travers' father suffered from heavy alcoholism which lent itself to him playing with the children jovially and guiding them through magical worlds of imagination while also getting fired from his job. Travers' aunt, the inspiration for Mary Poppins, shows up when the father of the house turns ill and whips the family into shape, just like her character would later do for the Banks'.
Travers' father was a dancing, happy, foolish alcoholic who needed to straighten up and take care of his family. Mr. Banks is a straight-backed, aristocratic banker who needed to learn how to have fun and take care of his children emotionally, though he was already supporting them financially. How did Mrs. Travers learn the completely opposite lesson from her own life experiences? The scene in the movie that finally softens her up to the audience and the tormented writing crew was "Let's Go Fly A Kite," which comes about when Mr. Banks finally chooses to behave more like a child and have fun Mrs. Travers loves the song, despite her previous assertions that Mary Poppins is meant to show children the hard reality of life and do the same for Mr. Banks. Unless the Disney crew completely switched the motivations for every major character in her book, Mrs. Travers doesn't understand her own life story.
All this confusion makes the film seem very disjointed and emotionally mixed-up. The aforementioned "softening" scene for Mrs. Travers is borderline ridiculous in its execution and downright wrong in its motivations. I still can't understand why a woman with her personal back story would right a book that dictates how a father should be more playful and childish rather than more serious about supporting his wife and children. All in all, the flashbacks to Mrs. Travers screwed-up childhood do little more than confuse the issues of the movie they are making, which is why it was a poor decision to make these flashbacks the center of the entire plot. "Saving Mr. Banks" earns a "See It" if you enjoy the always remarkable Tom Hanks and a cute story based on an entirely dark and disturbing story.
As always, if you agree or disagree with my biased and rambling opinions, please let me know in the comments!
