The first time I saw this film as a child, I was frightened. I loved the animated sequence and I was scared of (and bored by) the chimney sweep sequence because of these soot-faced sweeps shouting and dancing, I couldn't tell if they were friends or foe. Years later, I watched this in HBO, and I've had a chance to reevaluate it. Brimming beneath Mary Poppins's prim nanny exterior is mischief, subversion and anarchy, and I love the idea she goes around England teaching children to have fun under the thin guise of "proper British behavior". The key song is "Spoonful of Sugar", which is an almost zen-like attitude, with the correct leverage, your finger can turn a boulder into powder, with the correct attitude, an ant can move a rubber-tree plant. However, the song that made me fall in love with the movie forever is, "Feed the Birds". Compassion for the useless is precisely the point. There is no pragmatism in love. I've been a teacher for four years now, and I've never cracked a joke with a smile yet, though I joke all the time. I always try to earn that delicious half second while the students process, is he joking or is he serious? It's my pale imitation of Andrews as Poppins. Yes, I do try my darnedest to make my classes enjoyable.
Review of Mary Poppins
