Walt Disney Pictures is no stranger to schmaltz and sugar-coated narratives, and Saving Mr. Banks is no exception. The new film starring Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks, tells the story of how Walt and Co. convince the uptight author P.L. Travers to sell the rights to her beloved Mary Poppins. The film walks a delicate line between genuineness and schmaltz and, for the most part, it succeeds.Fearing (rightly so) that Disney will turn her characters into cartoonish, singing and dancing fools, Mrs. Travers embarks to Los Angeles to make sure her Nanny and more importantly, the Banks family, remain true to her vision. After two decades of hounding the poor author for the rights to her book, Walt finally succeeds in getting the stiff-upper-lipped Travers to LA to show her what they have in store. It's clear she comes begrudgingly and out of necessity (her funds, as well as her creative juices, have dried up) and she is not going to give in easily. She demands no animation, no singing and no dancing. In short, everything Disney stands for is unfit for her story. She claims her characters are family and the staff, including ol'Walt himself, don't quite get what that means.
The audience slowly gets clued-in, though, as the film flashes back to P.L.'s childhood in Australia and her relationship with her father Travers Goff (Colin Farrell). Goff is a drunk and a bit of a mess, bouncing from job to job, trying to provide for his family. Still the young Travers (born Helen Goff, Ginty to her dad) adores her father. Being old enough to understand some of what is going on Ginty is torn between wanting to help her father get better and being his enabler with alcohol and with shirking his work responsibilities. These moments are really heartbreaking and help us understand why it is that the adult Ginty is so unwavering with her characters.
And while there are dark moments, much of the film is light and fun and even quite funny. It's fitting that the happy moments take place at Disney's studios in the rehearsal room as the Sherman Brothers (Jason Schwartzman and a delightfully gruff B.J. Novak) treat Travers to the now iconic songs. It's fun to see how the famous duo crafted the lyrics and music we all know and love. And while the same beats are hit again and again, it is fun to see Travers battle it out with the Brothers and Don DaGradi (Bradley Whitford), the script writer.
The strength of this film lies in its cast. Emma Thompson is a formidable P.L. Travers and she commands every scene she is in. She is one of those actors who is able to be both strong and vulnerable at the same time. The film succeeds or fails on the central performance and Ms. Thompson is more than up to the challenge. Making Tom Hanks Walt Disney was a stroke of genius as well. While the physical similarities between the two are slight, Hanks embodies the everyman Disney was, or at least appeared to be. He is probably the closest thing we have to a Walt Disney today, in temperament and demeanor at least. And while the two leads do a splendid job, the real stand out is Colin Farrell as Travers father...Travers. We've seen Farrell do mean, angry, funny, and crazy, but never have we seen the kind, compassionate, loving Colin Farrell as we do in Saving Mr. Banks. His portrayal of a father ill-equipped to take care of a family is absolutely heartbreaking. He's a loser and he knows it, but for the sake of his beloved Ginty he puts on a good face, but the audience can see it's an act; an act that will not end well.
Saving Mr. Banks is good family fun. And while it succumbs to some of the weaknesses Mrs. Travers saw in Disney's work, it rises about the sentimental trappings and earns its genuine emotional beats. The direction is a bit heavy handed (John Lee Hancock of The Blind Side fame is not one for much subtlety) and the film ends much happier than what really happened (P.L. Travers disliked the film so much that in her will she made it so no other adaptations could be made of her books), but these are minor quibbles in a film that is just so likeable. The design, music and cinematography are all top notch and the supporting roles by Schwartzman, Novak, Whitford and Paul Giamatti as an always cheerful chauffeur are spot on.
