History Trivia / MaryPoppins

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Creator/DavidTomlinson, who portrayed the stern and emotionally distant patriarch, George Banks, was by all accounts a loving and devoted father in real life. He was known to avoided showbiz circles and regularly turned down social invites in order to spend as much time with his family as possible at his country cottage in Buckinghamshire.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Creator/DavidTomlinson, who portrayed the stern and emotionally-distant patriarch, George Banks, was by all accounts a loving and devoted father in real life. He was known to regularly turn down social invites and avoided showbiz circles in order to spend as much time with his family as possible at his country cottage in Buckinghamshire.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Creator\DavidTomlinson, who portrayed the stern and emotionally-distant patriarch, George Banks, was by all accounts a loving and devoted father in real life. He was known to regularly turn down social invites and avoided showbiz circles in order to spend as much time with his family as possible at his country cottage in Buckinghamshire.

* SleeperHit: Creator/LindsayEllis noted that musicals seemed to be waning in popularity in the early 1960s, and ''Mary Poppins'''s budget was relatively small compared to some of the other glossy studio releases - suggesting Disney didn't expect it to be a mega hit. It ended up grossing over $100 million worldwide, turned Julie Andrews into a household name, won six Academy Awards and got nominated for an additional eight.

* TropeCodifier: As far as MagicalNanny goes. If you mention a magical nanny, Mary Poppins is who they'll think of.
* TypeCasting: Reta Shaw had played the cook to a stuffy boss that needed to learn AnAesop about child caring in ''Film/Pollyanna1960''.

** Disney offered to do an AnimatedAdaptation of ''Mary Poppins'', but Travers felt [[AnimationAgeGhetto no one would take the movie seriously if it was animated]].
** After the film's success, Disney approached Travers for rights to film the other books, but given her thoughts about how the film deviated from her stories, she unsurprisingly refused.

* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/WaltDisney wanted only one person for the small part of the Bird Woman--Jane Darwell, his favorite actress. Darwell had a long, storied career in character parts (she's probably best remembered for playing Ma Joad in ''Film/TheGrapesOfWrath'', which won her an Oscar), and by that point was retired, so she politely declined when a representative offered her the role. Undeterred, Disney himself personally traveled to Darwell's retirement home to ask her to accept, even offering to have a private limousine sent to pick her up and bring her back on her single day of shooting. Darwell was so touched by the offer and Walt's appreciation for her that she accepted.

* CrossdressingVoices: The bird woman's voice was dubbed by the male Robert Sherman in post-production.

* LoopingLines: Jane Darwell's voice was too weak to be heard on the soundtrack, so Robert Sherman dubbed her.

* HypotheticalCasting: Creator/DickVanDyke later admitted that he was miscast as Bert and felt that Creator/JimDale or Creator/RonMoody would have been a better choice.

** Creator/FredAstaire, Creator/JimDale, Creator/DannyKaye, and even Creator/CaryGrant were considered for Bert. P.L. Travers suggested actors like Creator/RichardBurton, Creator/AlecGuinness, Creator/RichardHarris, Creator/RexHarrison, Creator/LaurenceHarvey, Creator/RonMoody, Creator/LaurenceOlivier, Creator/PeterOToole, and Creator/PeterSellers for the role, in keeping with the British nature of her books.

** The Sherman Brothers originally planned to use the song "Chim-Chim-Cheree" for all the music in the rooftop finale. However, when special effects supervisor Peter Ellenshaw brought the English pub song "Knees Up Mother Brown" to their attention, they decided to make their own variation, resulting in "Step In Time".
* Some general trivia:
** Because back then [[EverybodySmokes everybody smoked]], Karen Dotrice (Jane Banks) says she has the surreal image in her head of Mary Poppins smoking (Julie Andrews, in costume backstage).
** Matthew Garber (Michael Banks) was afraid of heights, so they gave him a dime (10 cents in 1963 was equal to about 81 cents in 2018) each time he went up in a harness for the tea party on the ceiling.
** ''Mary Poppins'' was the very first Disney-branded film to be released on UsefulNotes/{{DVD}}, in 1998 as the sole DVD in the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection.

* RoleReprise: Gavin Lee originated the role of Bert in London, on Broadway, and on the US National Tour.

* {[TypeCasting}}: Reta Shaw had played the cook to a stuffy boss that needed to learn AnAesop about child caring in ''Film/{{Pollyanna 1960}}''.

* HostilityOnTheSet: When Karen Dotrice appeared on ''Radio/StusShow'' she revealed that [[https://vimeo.com/463698373?fbclid=IwAR2GANP--Wi70tOCXvRQeQ2-2iHnRVrDzT4-u-H1dqkyQBs6eSx5p_tG1pI she and Matthew Garber didn't get along.]] In fact, she claims that Garber was a menace on set. Host Stu Shostak also revealed that Dick Van Dyke had told him once that he "was a handful". Dotrice though added that Garber's parents were going through a divorce at the time, which may have contributed to his misbehavior.
* InspirationForTheWork: The song "Let's Go Fly a Kite" was inspired by the Sherman brothers' father, Al Sherman, who made kites for neighborhood children as a weekend hobby. In the film, the broken kite represents the broken family. When Mr. Banks mends the kite and the four pieces are taped back together, the four members of the family are also reunited. By transforming her "suffragette ribbon" into the kite's tail, Mrs. Banks also commits herself to being there more for her family.

* TypeCasting: Reta Shaw had played the cook to a stuffy boss that needed to learn AnAesop about child caring in ''Film/{{Pollyanna 1960}}''.

** The book had a chapter in which Mary Poppins and the children use a magic compass to visit different countries. The Sherman Brothers wrote a wide assortment of songs to use for their journey, but the chapter ultimately went unadapted.

* CreatorChosenCasting: Creator/WaltDisney hand-picked Creator/JulieAndrews after seeing her in ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'' on Broadway. He was so keen to cast her that he waited until she gave birth. What really sealed the deal was when P.L. Travers spoke to her on the telephone from her hospital bed. In fact, Andrews was one of the few things that Travers liked about the film.

* WagTheDirector: One of Julie Andrews' favorite songs was "Stay Awake". When she heard that there were plans to delete it, she wrote a letter of concern to P.L. Travers, who instantly insisted that the song remain in the film.

** Creator/FredAstaire, Creator/JimDale, Creator/DannyKaye, and even Creator/CaryGrant were considered for Bert. P.L. Travers suggested actors like Creator/RichardBurton, Creator/AlecGuinness, Creator/RichardHarris, Creator/RexHarrison, Creator/RonMoody, Creator/LaurenceOlivier, Creator/PeterOToole, and Creator/PeterSellers for the role, in keeping with the British nature of her books.

** In addition to playing Mr. Banks, Creator/DavidTomlinson voices Mary Poppins's umbrella. He also voiced some of the animated characters in the chalk drawing scene.

* FakeBrit: Creator/DickVanDyke. That accent. Ironically, he also plays [[spoiler:Mr. Dawes, Sr]], doing so brilliant a job that many viewers don't even realize it was him. Dick van Dyke's Cockney accent is a contender for second most notorious film example of all time. If you're wondering who owns the title for most notorious, see [[Creator/SeanConnery here]]. Dick defended himself on Creator/{{NPR}}'s ''Radio/WaitWaitDontTellMe'' by explaining that his accent coach was J. Pat O'Malley, who didn't speak Cockney any better than he did. Though J. Pat O'Malley was English, he was from Burnley, OopNorth and nowhere near London. To hear his take on Cockney listen to Jasper in the original ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'', for whom he provided the voice, as well as the voice of the Colonel.

* CreatorsFavorite: "Feed the Birds" is widely reported to have been Walt Disney's favorite song, and he would often request that the Sherman Brothers play it for him. Disney's love for the song was such that Richard Sherman played it to dedicate the "Partners" statue at Ride/{{Disneyland}}, saying "Now I'll play Walt Disney's favorite song... [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments and it's just for him.]]"

* AwesomeDearBoy: Walt Disney wanted only one person for the small part of the Bird Woman--Jane Darwell, his favorite actress. Darwell had a long, storied career in character parts (she's probably best remembered for playing Ma Joad in ''Film/TheGrapesOfWrath'', which won her an Oscar), and by that point was retired, so she politely declined when a representative offered her the role. Undeterred, Disney himself personally traveled to Darwell's retirement home to ask her to accept, even offering to have a private limousine sent to pick her up and bring her back on her single day of shooting. Darwell was so touched by the offer and Walt's appreciation for her that she accepted.

* InspirationForTheWork: The song, "Let's Go Fly a Kite" was inspired by the Sherman brothers' father, Al Sherman who made kites for neighborhood kids as a weekend hobby. In the film, the broken kite represents the broken family. When Mr. Banks mends the kite and the four pieces are taped back together, the four members of the family are also reunited. By transforming her "suffragette ribbon" into the kite's tail, Mrs. Banks also commits herself to being there more for her family.

* UsefulNotes/AFIS100YearsSeries:
** AFIS100Years100Songs
*** #36, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
** AFISGreatestMovieMusicals: #6

* AFIS100YearsSeries:

** When Glynis Johns, who played Mrs. Bank, was invited to the studios, she mistakenly assumed that she was being asked to read for Mary, and was taken aback when she was told she was going to get the smaller role. Walt Disney, thinking quickly, loudly told her that she didn't have to worry, because the Sherman Brothers (who were standing nearby) had written Mrs. Banks an incredible song that she was sure to love, which they'd play for her right after he took her to lunch. Needless to say, that "incredible song" ''didn't exist yet''--it was Walt's way of signaling the brothers to write something immediately. When Disney and Johns returned from their lunch, "Sister Suffragette" was ready for the film.

* HostilityOnTheSet: When Karen Dotrice appeared on ''[[Radio/StusShow Stu's Show]]'' she revealed that [[https://vimeo.com/463698373?fbclid=IwAR2GANP--Wi70tOCXvRQeQ2-2iHnRVrDzT4-u-H1dqkyQBs6eSx5p_tG1pI she and Matthew Garber didn't get along.]] In fact, she claims that Garber was a menace on set. Host Stu Shostak also revealed that Dick Van Dyke had told him once that he "was a handful". Dotrice though added that Garber's parents were going through a divorce at the time, which may have contributed to his misbehavior.

* DevelopmentHell: Cameron Mackintosh first met with P.L. Travers in 1993 to discuss adapting the Mary Poppins books to the stage. While initially turning down the use of the film's songs, she ultimate agreed to an adaptation as long as no one involved with the film was directly involved. After Travers' death in 1996, plans for the show were in limbo until 2001 when Mackintosh met Thomas Schumacher, head of Creator/DisneyTheatricalProductions, and the show began development the following year.

* HostilityOnTheSet: When Karen Dotrice appeared on ''[[Radio/StusShow Stu's Show]]'' she revealed that [[https://vimeo.com/463698373?fbclid=IwAR2GANP--Wi70tOCXvRQeQ2-2iHnRVrDzT4-u-H1dqkyQBs6eSx5p_tG1pI her and Matthew Garber didn't get along.]] In fact, she claims that Garber was a menace on set. Host Stu Shostak also revealed that Dick Van Dyke had told him once that he "was a handful". Dotrice though added that Garber's parents were going through a divorce at the time, which may have contributed to his misbehavior.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The 1997 Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection Laserdisc included an isolated score, which didn't make it onto any DVD/Blu-Ray/Digital releases of ''Mary Poppins''. Not even the soundtracks include all of it, due to Disney's tendency to save discs two onwards for bonus features. Three of the Laserdisc's other extras[[note]]The documentary ''Practically Perfect in Every Way'', a ''Hollywood Goes To a World Premiere'' vintage newsreel, and a trailer for the original wide theatrical release[[/note]] did make it to DVD, on the 2000 Gold Classic Collection disc; the later releases replace them with extras that cover the same ground, but in more detail.

** In addition, the film's vocal coach, J. Pat O'Malley, also appeared in numerous Disney films; he was also in ''Alice in Wonderland'', voicing Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and he was also Colonel Hathi in ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967''.
** Hermione Baddeley, who played Ellen, the Banks' parlormaid, also was the voice of Madame Adelaide Bonfamille in ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats''.

** In the musical, depending on the production, the actress who plays Miss Andrew also plays either Queen Victoria or the Bird Woman.

** Mary had a song called "Practically Perfect", the melody was used for Sister Suffragette, while the Musical has a song with the same name it is brand new.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Concept art exists for Mary Poppins and Mrs. Corry gluing stars to the night sky, but proved too difficult to stage.
** Once piece of concept art shows Mary Poppins leaving via a smoke staircase at the end of Act 1. This was scrapped in favor of her flying away.

* DisownedAdaptation: P.L. Travers absolutely ''hated'' the film, due to its changing of several elements of her original stories and the inclusion of the animated sequence. So much so, that at the premiere, she approached Creator/WaltDisney before its first screening, demanding the sequence be removed. Disney refused, and later, when the film had concluded, Travers broke down crying, not because the people hated the film, but because ''[[http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/12/19/051219fa_fact1?currentPage=all they were giving it a standing ovation]]''. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Disney-produced biographical film ''Film/SavingMrBanks'' finesses these facts like mad. Rare interviews and secondary accounts state Travers ''did'' gain a better opinion of the film later on, she actually stated that she thought the film was well made and had a lot of positive aspects to it (for instance, she agreed that Creator/JulieAndrews was marvellous). However, she felt it was so different from her books that she wasn't happy with the final product.