Nowhere to Go But Up
From book to screen, Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Returns serve as memorable Disney musical films that can impact your classroom. Mary Poppins, the magical and flying nanny, is known worldwide from the books and especially from the two films. The subtitle of this article is from the song, “Nowhere To Go But Up,” in the Mary Poppins Returns score. The song has a strong message of positivity. I am positive that the two Mary Poppins films hold much promise for teachers wishing to incorporate them into student learning.
Both Mary Poppins films are musical fantasy films that include both live action and animated sequences. The original was released on August 27, 1964, by Walt Disney Studios. The film is based mainly on the first two Mary Poppins books by P. L. Travers. The setting was originally the 1930s, changed to 1910, the Edwardian era. Mary Poppins Returns opened in December 2018, starring Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins. The sequel takes place 24 years later in 1934 during the Big Slump. The sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, was released 54 years after the original. The sequel pays homage to the original in several ways and even includes two actors from the original: Dick Van Dyke as Mr. Dawes, Jr. and Karen Dotrice as, “Elegant Woman.” Mary Poppins Returns received four Oscar nominations including one for Best Song, “The Place Where Lost Things Go.”
This article provides background on the making of both Mary Poppins films including details about author P.L. Travers who wrote eight Mary Poppins books. Suggested activities for the overall curriculum are outlined. The book series offers an incentive for promoting reading and literacy as well as creative opportunities for teachers and students alike.
Curriculum to Shape Mary Poppins Integration
Curriculum frameworks can serve as guides for integrating Mary Poppins in instruction. Traditional or Socratic methods can work to ensure that students can answer comprehension questions tied to the plot of the films or books as well as discuss key themes, characters and songs. Teachers can design lessons that account for both breadth and depth. Higher level thinking can be accomplished by asking students “why” and “how” questions, as well as “what if” questions.
Consider the following for discussion:
• Why does Mary Poppins show up in both films?
• How does Mary Poppins get the children to cooperate for her?
• Why is Mary Poppins appealing to children and adults alike? • How many similarities and differences can you identify
between the original and sequel films using observation or Internet research?
• What social-emotional concepts are illustrated by Poppins characters’ actions or song lyrics?
Five areas reflected in The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) standards of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making may be incorporated into lessons. Concepts from character education and habits of mind can also be utilised.
The 16 habits or dispositions can be analysed using Poppins characters and themes. For example, Mary Poppins exhibits Habit 1, “Persisting,” in the sequel because she successfully helps the Banks family resolve problems and helps Michael’s children heal from their mother’s passing. Also consider differentiation, research, project-based learning, creativity, concept-based curriculum, cooperative learning, technology, thematic learning and interdisciplinary lessons when designing lessons.
Mary Poppins Subject Connections and Learning Scenarios
Subject connections, specific activities and skills that utilise the music and concepts of Mary Poppins to enrich the curriculum appear
in Table 1. Consider interdisciplinary approaches for both films to create powerful lessons.
Table 1. Mary Poppins Subject Connections, Activities and Skills
Mary Poppins Learning Scenarios
The following scenarios offer engaging activities for students to explore:
London Town: Students can learn about London, especially its architecture, history, layout and royal family.
Disney Animation: Students learn about the process of creating animation through traditional cel creation.
Fly a Kite: Students learn about the origin of kites, featured in both Poppins films. They can create their own and decorate them with Poppins themes and references.
Walt Disney: Students learn about Walt Disney, his creative vision, his studios in Burbank, California, USA, and his theme parks.
P. L. Travers: Students learn about the author of the eight-book Mary Poppins series.
Character Analysis: Using social-emotional learning standards and habits of mind, students analyse characters in one or both
Poppins films: Mary Poppins, Bert, Jack, Mr. and Mrs. Banks, Jane Banks, Michael Banks, and Michael’s children, Annabelle, John and Georgie. Include character’s songs in the analysis.
What’s Cooking: Students can explore food and recipes by using Mary Poppins in the Kitchen.
Creative Expression: Students choose a book from the Mary Poppins series and adapt the book to a musical as follows depending on time. Choose one section and create dialogue and a song, create an entire plan and provide details about sets and costumes.
Getting to Know the Cast: Students learn about one or more actors featured in the Poppins films such as Julie Andrews, Emily Blunt, Dick Van Dyke, Lin-Manuel Miranda and others.
Mary Poppins Songs: Students analyse one or more songs from the Poppins films, focusing on main messages of lyrics, character development, time signature and plot development.
The Sherman Brothers: Students learn about the musical films for which Robert and Richard Sherman created songs.
Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman: Students learn about the musicians who created the Mary Poppins Returns songs. What melodies from the original Poppins did they include in the sequel’s orchestrations?
Summary
Both Mary Poppins musicals can provide material for engaging students with an interdisciplinary curriculum. Utilising films such as Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Returns exposes students to musicals as content-rich material that enriches students’ learning. We can conclude that there is nowhere to go but up!
Interesting Mary Poppins Facts
Mary Poppins received 13 Academy Award nominations and won 5: Best Actress Julie Andrews, Best Film Editing,
Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” Julie Andrews also won a Best Actress Golden Globe for Mary Poppins.
Mary Poppins underscoring was completed by Irwin Kostal who also scored other film musicals such as West Side Story, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! and The Sound of Music.
In 2013, Mary Poppins was preserved by the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being, “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Mary Poppins was the most profitable film of 1965 followed by The Sound of Music, Goldfinger and My Fair Lady. The revenue from Mary Poppins was used by Walt Disney to purchase 27, 500 acres in central Florida and finance
the construction of Walt Disney World.
The park where we first see Mary Poppins in the sequel is the same location where Sally Ann Howes sang, “Lovely
Lonely Man,” in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, filmed at the Pinewood Studios in London.
For the tub scene in the sequel’s, “Can You Imagine That?” a hole was cut in the floor of the tub for the actors to
disappear, leading to a slide below the bathroom set.
Emily Blunt worked with director Rob Marshall before the sequel on the film musical Into the Woods.
Emily Blunt read the Mary Poppins books to prepare for the sequel instead of watching the original film with Julie Andrews.
P. L. Travers
Pamela L. Travers, whose birth name was Helen Lyndon Goff, was born on August 9, 1899 in Queensland, Australia. She moved to England and pursued a career in writing. She modeled Mary Poppins off of Christina Saraset, her Aunt Sass.
Walt Disney’s two daughters loved the Mary Poppins books. They asked their father to make a film based on them. Disney first tried to secure rights in 1939 from Travers but she declined; She did not think a film version would do justice to her work. Disney was mainly known as a producer of cartoons and had not produced any major live-action works. For more than 20 years, Disney periodically attempted to convince Travers to allow him to make a Poppins film. He succeeded in 1961, although Travers demanded and got script approval rights. Planning the film and composing the songs took approximately two years.
Travers objected to several elements that are found in the final film. She wanted the songs to be standards of the Edwardian period. She also did not want the animated sequence. Some details from the book version were changed for the film. For example, the film features only two Banks children: Jane and Michael. The original book also had twins named John and Barbara. Disney and Travers’ relationship is featured in the book Mary Poppins, She Wrote by Valerie Lawson and in the 2013 film Saving Mr. Banks. Travers died in London on April 23, 1996.