Writer of Pop Culture

1964: ‘Mary Poppins’ Premieres

It was this day that Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke attended the premiere of the classic musical, Mary Poppins along with Walt Disney and P. L. Travers, the author of the book of the same name. Music was composed by the Sherman Brothers who went on to compose many more songs for the Disney Company. The film was unique in that if featured an animated/live action sequence with cartoon penguins dancing with Van Dyke. It was those sequences that Travers disliked in the movie. In fact, Travers was a big fan of the movie in general. However, the film was a hit with everyone else.

Mary Poppins was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won five for Best Actress for Andrews, Best Film Editing, Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” 

In 2013, the film Saving Mr. Banks, telling the story behind of the story of the making of the film, arrived in theaters with Emma Thompson playing the role of Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney.

In 2018, Emily Blunt filled in for Andrews playing Poppins in the long-awaited sequel, Mary Poppins Returns in which Van Dyke made a cameo appearance. Andrews however did not stating that she felt that this was Blunt’s movie, and Andrews didn’t want to take anything away from her. (Image: Walt Disney Pictures)

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In 1956, the book became available in the U.S. and sold 70,000 copies. Today, more than 100 million copies of the book have been sold in 100 different countries and in 37 different languages. It is the world’s best-selling copyright book ever. (Image: Guinness Book of World Records)

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