Movie Reviews -- Go fly a kite: Saving Mr. Banks

Source: The Santa Fe New MexicanDec.自存倉 20--Saving Mr. Banks, drama, rated PG-13, Regal Stadium 14, 2.5 chilesTo the best of my knowledge, there is no Mary Poppins-themed attraction at either Disney World or Disneyland. In that sense, perhaps Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers won at least one round in her often-contentious battle with Walt Disney regarding his 1964 film adaptation of her famous literary work. For as the story of the not-so-sweet collaboration between the two plays out in John Lee Hancock's film Saving Mr. Banks, the shrewd businessman/animator took Travers for quite a ride as he turned her creation into -- as Travers puts it -- "one of your silly cartoons."Saving Mr. Banks is a heartfelt if somewhat disturbing look at the story of Disney and Travers, and of her tough childhood in the Australian outback, her love for her wastrel father, her loathing of the Magic Kingdom, and of a lot of other things that just can't fit comfortably into the screenplay by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. The film does work in spurts, particularly because of beautiful acting by Emma Thompson as Travers and the easygoing charm of Tom Hanks as Disney. But as the story moves back and forth between the harsh reality of Travers' early life and the surreal fairy-tale environment of the Disney studio, Saving Mr. Banks fails to sustain a narrative arc strong enough to carry the two tales. The flashback sequences work best, 迷你倉ith Colin Farrell (as Travers' dad), Ruth Wilson (as her mom), and Annie Rose Buckley (Travers as a little girl) all beautifully conveying the pain and hope of a life that continually gets reduced thanks to daddy's drinking and dreaming.Surprisingly, it is the scenes set in 1960s Hollywood that fail as Travers attempts to collaborate with Disney's trio of song- and screenwriters -- played by B.J. Novak, Bradley Whitford, and Jason Schwartzman in a way that suggests they could have all switched parts and nobody would have noticed. Their bits of business spotlight a Disneyfied version of events, though it's to the screenwriters' credit that, as the story rolls out, you gain more sympathy for the coolly unyielding Travers as you lose empathy for the somewhat devious Disney. As for the 1964 movie, Saving Mr. Banks is bound to alter whatever nostalgic view you have of that picture given how it ties into Travers' personal backstory. Certain moments will move you, as when Travers watches the film for the first time during its Hollywood premiere. Mr. Banks, in case you don't know, is the father figure in Mary Poppins, and if nothing else, Ol' Walt did indeed save him, though it is doubtful that Travers appreciated the gesture.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) Visit The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) at .santafenewmexican.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage