Saving Mr. Banks

Those of us attending the Friday Noon Movie Club last week were taken by surprise. We knew the basic idea of Saving Mr. Banks: P. L. Travers, curmudgeonly author of Mary Poppins, was reluctant to let her book become a Disney movie, and Mr. Walt Disney somehow convinces her to allow it. I even knew that it had something to do with her traumatic childhood experiences.

As it turns out, about half of the movie is dedicated to flashbacks to her childhood and the tragic nature of her father’s life. For at least one of us, the loss of a beloved, flawed father is fresh enough history that the movie prompted a new wave of grief. This movie is at least as much a father-daughter film as it is movie history.

Emma Thompson was, as expected, spectacularly crusty as Mrs. Travers, a woman aghast at the prospect of her characters joining the ranks of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Thompson also gave her Travers a few fleeting moments of vulnerability that made her sympathetic in spite of her unrelenting sharp edges.

Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney, and he does it capably. It seems like a sort of thankless role, really, because he has no choice but to be affable and smart, and fit the mold of someone who created the Happiest Place on Earth. Which can only feel like propaganda. And in this movie, Disney & co. is truly a Happy Place. Everyone is smiling, and the writers and the administrative assistants seem just this side of cartoon characters themselves. They are charming and entertaining, and it’s fun to see how they deal with this gruff woman.

But if Thompson weren’t so good at straddling the line between crustiness and humanity, the adult-Travers portion of the movie would be way too saccharine. And we can only wonder if Walt himself is the real reason that Mary Poppins became a movie. Was he really that good a student of human nature? I guess it’s fairly obvious he read human nature right on a couple of points, or he wouldn’t have been so successful.

The movie is also a bit long, possibly testing some viewers’ patience; the sad story of her family may also be a bit much for the young ones. Our viewing seemed to be populated by women in their 30s and 40s, which is not the usual crowd for Friday noon movies—often I’m surrounded by either retirees or younger men who may possibly be escaping their life in their parents’ basement for the afternoon.

I do think it’s a shame that Emma Thompson wasn’t nominated for this, though Cate Blanchett has the Oscar all but wrapped up. I don’t really think Amy Adams has anything on Emma for this one.

This was a fun and touching way to spend a couple of hours with friends, and I recommend it for anyone who likes Mary Poppins, Emma Thompson, or indulging in a bit of orneriness.