When I was a kid I was positively captivated by Mary Poppins . Everything from the story, to the incorporation of animation, and of course — the music!
It’s been more than 50 years since the film first hit theaters. So to help you become reacquainted with this Disney gem, here are 10+ Mary Poppins behind the scenes secrets fans didn’t know. Spit-spot and off we go!
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1. The film is based on a series of books by author P.L. Travers.
The original books were published in the mid-’30s. Mary Poppins the movie follows almost the identical plot as the first novel in the series.
But making the film would prove to be much more difficult than Disney ever envisioned.
It took Walt more than 20 years to convince author P.L. Travers to sign over the film rights!
Keep in mind that the first book was published in 1934. Disney wasn’t able to convince Travers to even visit Hollywood until 1961!
The only reason why she ended up relenting was due to the fact that her royalties from the novels had all but dried up!
They even made a movie about it!
Saving Mr. Banks stars Tom Hanks as Walt Disney alongside Emma Thompson, as P.L. Travers.
The film explains how Mary Poppins was Walt’s daughter’s favorite book and that he’d made a promise to turn it into a movie.
2. P.L. Travers hated the film, the songs, and pretty much everything else you can think of.
Not to be rude but you have to be a special kind of sour-puss to not enjoy the song “Supercalafragalisticexpialadocious.”
This is literally an 11-minute long video of her doing absolutely nothing but complaining.
3. *Mary Poppins* was nominated for a grand total of 13 Academy Awards!
It managed to take home Best Original Song, Best Score, and most notably Best Actress.
What made the win for Julie Andrews even more impressive was that she was once again nominated against Audrey Hepburn!
4. Walt was sued for the song “Supercalafragalisticexpialadocious.”
Richard and Robert Zimmerman claimed that they had first heard the song at summer camp when they were children.
Songwriters Gloria Parker and Barney Young claimed the word came from songs they’d written in 1949 and 1951. Ultimately, the case was thrown out.
5. Walt Disney didn’t want Dick Van Dyke for the role of Bert.
At least not at first. There were many disagreements between Walt and Travers when it came to casting.
Originally, Walt had wanted Cary Grant for the role of Bert. He also suggested Laurence Harvey and Anthony Newley.
6. Dick Van Dyke took a lot of heat for his Cockney accent.
According to Dick, it still plagues him to this day! During an interview with NPR , Van Dyke admitted:
” I don’t talk to British people because they just make a mess of me .”
7. David Tomlinson was a man of many talents.
Not only did he play the pivotal role of Mr. Banks, but Tomlinson also provided voice work for the film as well!
You can hear him speak as the voice of the parrot head on the handle of Mary Poppin’s umbrella.
8. Julie Andrews almost passed on the role!
Julie had come from Broadway and she was hoping to be cast as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady .
Jack Warner ended up casting Audrey Hepburn, which allowed Andrews to accept the role of Marry Poppins.
The next year, both Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews were up against one another for the Golden Globe.
Julie ended up winning. During her acceptance speech, she made sure to give thanks where it was due:
“Finally, my thanks to a man who made a wonderful movie and who made all this possible in the first place — Mr. Jack Warner!”
9. Walt Disney’s all-time favorite song was “Feed The Birds.”
He loved the medley so much that he’d even request a private performance from songwriter Richard Sherman every Friday!
I’m going to have to agree with Walt on this one; my mother used to sing it to me when I was a kid and it’s one of the fondest memories I have of her.
10. The original nanny for the Banks children was terrifying!
Her name was Elsa Lanchester . Although horror movie fanatics will know her by another name: The Bride of Frankenstein!
It’s kind of fitting that the old nanny was both a literal and figurative monster, don’t you think?
11. An important piece of the film’s history was almost thrown out with the trash!
Disney archivist, Dave Smith, talks about how he once found the treasured snowglobe from the “Feed the Birds” scene just sitting atop a shelf in the janitor’s closet.
12. Julie Andrews whistled the part of the robin.
Believe it or not, one of Julie Andrews’ hidden talents is whistling ! Walt had heard her do it during one of her Broadway performances.
He liked it so much that he decided it would fit perfectly into the film.
