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Mary Poppins Returns052 | w w w. s c i fi n ow.co.u k
nostalgia in many ways and the thing that
strikes me is, the memory of seeing Mary
Poppins and being so comforted as a child
by the idea of this magical, enigmatic
person, sweeping in and making it all
right again. And I felt very comforted by
that. And so I did have a sort of love affair
with Mary Poppins as a child as I think a
lot of people did.”
The sheer mystery of her is a treat as well.
“The fact that she has this sort of enigmatic
master plan and yet you are not made aware
of it and she certainly doesn’t push it on
you until the end,” Blunt continues. “And
somebody who does so much for people and
improves their lives for the better but takes
no credit I think is a pretty fabulous person.
She’s also vain and stylish, so there are many
layers of kind of wonderful qualities to play.”
The film hails from Rob Marshall, the
man behind such musical spectacles as the
Academy Award For Best Picture-winning
Chicago and Disney’s 2014 film Into The
Woods. Both Blunt and Meryl Streep
previously worked with Marshall on the
latter, and Blunt was happy to get the chance
to do it again. “He’s heaven,” she says of
Marshall. “He’s just so meticulous and so
elegant and he digs for the gold and he really
knows how to do that, every day, every take,
and he’s got such a fantastic eye. I have never
met anyone who pays such attention to detail
as he does.”
The feeling seems to be mutual, with
Marshall revealing that he can think of no
one else on the planet who could play the
role better than Blunt. “[It’s] the combination
of all the things that Emily has, which is
that she is an incredible actress as we know,
but in addition to the humour and the joy
and the warmth, she also has this knowing,
wonderful enigmatic quality that she is
displaying throughout, she also sings and
dances, which is extraordinary. She’s British,
and so it’s incredibly authentic.”
Some fans were slightly saddened to learn
that Julie Andrews wouldn’t be returning for
the sequel, neither as Mary Poppins herself
nor in a new role. “You know, Julie is a very
good friend of mine and Rob’s and we all felt
that we didn’t know what Julie could play in
the movie, because we think of her as Mary
Poppins,” explains producer Marc Platt. “So
if we bring her to the film, it’s like there’s
the old Mary Poppins. And Mary Poppins
is timeless, she doesn’t age, so to have Julie
play another character didn’t feel right to
Julie or to the film. And so she is thrilled
about it and she is also a big fan of Emily
Blunt’s and that was the best way to sort ofmary is
a pretty
fabulous
person...
she’s also
vain and
stylish
emily blunt