Musicals Week: Mary Poppins (1964)

Mary Poppins

Call No: PN1997 .M364 1964

When Julie Andrews presented David Tennant with his BAFTA award for playing the title character on Doctor Who, he opened his acceptance by saying “If nothing else ever happens to me in my life, I just met Julie Andrews!” Fans across the world could relate to his excitement. The multi-talented Julie Andrews has been a darling of film and theatre for years, and for good reason. The woman brings an open honesty and charm to her roles that has not often been duplicated, and never as successfully. Her role of the title character in Mary Poppins is an excellent example of this.

Almost everyone recognizes the umbrella-flying nanny (or even her counterpart from The Simpsons, Sherry Bobbins), but here’s a refresher for the story: Jane and Michael Banks, two loveable kids who have a knack for losing their nannies in the park and causing mischief typical of children, have recently driven their last nanny to leave. This upsets their strict and workaholic father, who insists on hiring the new nanny rather than his suffragette wife. Enter (with some hilarity) Mary Poppins, “practically perfect in every way” and able to effortlessly conjure magic wherever she goes. With a little help, magic and showtunes from Mary Poppins, the four Banks members might find a way to be a family again.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Howl’s Moving Castle
Call No: TEMP 1686

I’ve always been a fan of cartoons. I spent countless hours of my childhood with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Animaniacs gang. As I grew older, I still enjoyed cartoons and their longer relatives, the feature-length animated film. Soon I began to recognize a difference between the types of animation, and such a type is “anime”. As many Japanese animation fans will testify (as will Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory), anime is not a cartoon. Anime is the term used to refer to Japanese animation, be it shows or films. One of, if not the, most influential animator in Japan is Hayao Miyazaki.   Considered to be the Walt Disney of Japan, Hayao Miyazaki has enriched and perfected the art of storytelling in his films by combining heartfelt drama, comic relief, dynamic characters and stunning animation. Howl’s Moving Castle is no different.

For those who have never been exposed to anime before, this is an excellent place to start. While some fans of anime might recommend the classic Academy-Award winning Spirited Away instead (which I will review in the New Year), it would be better to start with Howl’s Moving Castle. It has a more linear approach to the story than other anime films and, as someone pointed out to me, can be considered more Westernized and universal in terms of content. A large part of that comes from the fact that it’s based on the British novel of the same name, written by Diana Wynne Jones.

The story is about a young woman named Sophie who is the victim of a spell that makes her appear old and prevents her from talking about the curse. Her only hope in reversing it comes in the form of a talented but irresponsible young wizard named Howl, who rather than fight or defend anything instead prefers to run using his magical moving castle, powered by an ancient fire demon named Calcifer. Throw in a witch after Howl’s heart, a ruthless wizard instructor and a war-torn kingdom where wizards are used as soldiers. Add in the fact that Howl might not be all he appears to be and you have an intriguing story full of fantasy and adventure.