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Mary Poppins Returns Early Reactions: Plenty of Joy For The Holidays
Surprising no one, Mary Poppins Returns has already raked in a heap of positive reviews in its early screenings. Back upon its announcement, this (very) belated sequel to a children's classic warranted some cause for concern. Could Emily Blunt fill the shoes of Julie Andrews? Fans posed the age old revival question: Could this version possibly live up to the original? Yet, with Lin Manuel Miranda by her side, Blunt and Mary Poppins Returns have been on the receiving end of numerous early positive reviews.
Set after the original film, and acting as a delayed sequel, Mary Poppins Returns sends the supernatural nanny to her previous charges, the Banks children –now the Banks adults presiding over a new generation of kids. Led by director Rob Marshall (Into the Woods), the sequel cast Blunt and Miranda along with a few powerful co-stars – Colin Firth, Dick Van Dyke and Meryl Streep, to name a few. Fans continued to build excitement at each set photo and casting announcement, proclaiming Blunt the perfect replacement for Andrews; and those lucky few who have already seen the instant Disney classic could not agree more.
Although a more niche group of individuals has pitched their camps on the negative side of things, claiming nothing could live up to the original, most of the initial reviews have a strong positive lean, implying Mary Poppins Returns is a great dose of holiday cheer this December. Here are a few early takes:
Some sequels tend to follow the original plot too closely (The Hangover sequels), while others completely reinvent the wheel barely clinging to the initial concept (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle). Mary Poppins Returns seems to fall somewhere in the sweet spot between the two extremes. Perhaps Blunt's decision not to rewatch the original in preparation of her role may have paid off after all..
Described as "cozy", "warm", "whimsical", "magical" and "joyful", Mary Poppins Returns appears to rightly capitalize on the first film's feel-good nature as well as the nostalgia original fans bring to the theaters, yet it maintains the freedom to come across as a new movie for an entirely different generation. Though fans perhaps worried whether or not this revival could fulfill their sky-high expectations, the initial reviews are here to say that Emily Blunt may have done the impossible.
Mary Poppins Returns (2018) release date: Dec 19, 2018
