Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

The Banks children are grown up and struggling to keep hold of their family home during the great depression. Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) is a widower with three children (Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, Joel Dawson) while Jane Banks (Emily Mortimer) is a social activist living on her own. Enter their childhood nanny Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) to set a few things right. Based on the books of P.L. Travers and directed by Rob Marshall (INTO THE WOODS). Absolutely charming! Walt Disney would have been proud. I didn't think of Julie Andrews once as soon as Blunt's Mary descended down from the clouds. The hand drawn animation is a treat, the production numbers are wonderful and only a curmudgeon wouldn't fall under its spell. When 91 year old Dick Van Dyke broke into a dance, the audience broke into applause. Meryl Streep steals the movie during her big musical number but it's the delightful Emily Blunt who is the glue that holds the movie together. This isn't a remake of the 1964 film, this is just another chapter in the life of the Poppins character. With Lin Manuel Miranda, Angela Lansbury, Colin Firth, Julie Walters and David Warner.