Saving Mr. Banks Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Saving Mr. Banks Blu-ray Movie Review

"This is my film and I shall have my way!"

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown March 19, 2014

A thick air of sentimentality, overly tidy storytelling and frustratingly sunny revisionism hangs heavy over director John Lee Hancock's Saving Mr. Banks, which never quite feels like the truest of true tales. And yet the sweet aroma of prickly playfulness and irresistible likability make it a positively pleasant film; brisk and earnest, with a touch of that patented Disney magic. Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks are spot on as persnickety author P. L. Travers and legendary filmmaker Walt Disney, and an absolute delight to watch. So too are Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Bradley Whitford and B.J. Novak, even though Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith's screenplay push the quartet dangerously close to cartoon territory. Just be ready for a slightly different biopic than the film's trailers suggest. This isn't Walt Disney's story; it's P.L. Travers'. Scenes with Hanks donnings Uncle Walt's signature mustache and smile afford the man of the hour surprisingly little screentime in the first half of the film, while indulgent, overripe flashbacks to Travers' childhood (that are much too long and arrive much too frequently) cheapen the already on-the-nose proceedings with made-for-TV bluntness. Taken as a Golden Age Hollywood fairy tale, though, the utterly charming Saving Mr. Banks boasts just enough heart, humor and sincerity to almost, almost make up for its truth tinkering.

Determined to fulfill a twenty-year-old promise made to his daughters when they were children, innovative filmmaker Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) works to develop a film adaptation of "Mary Poppins," author P.L. Travers' (Emma Thompson) beloved book. There's just one problem: she refuses to relinquish the rights to her series. Traveling to Los Angeles, the famously protective Travers is aghast at the "silly and absurd" musical Walt, screenwriter Don DaGradi (Bradley Whitford) and co-composers Richard and Robert Sherman (Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak) are developing, and immediately sets her mind to righting the ship. It isn't ownership she's battling for, though. As the team slowly discovers, her stories are more than whimsical tales; they're deeply personal, entrenched in a painful past that swirls around her alcoholic father (Colin Farrell, playing opposite Annie Rose Buckley as a young P.L. Travers in 1906.) What follows is a clash of two seemingly immovable titans -- Walt, the folksy dreamer, and Travers, the uncompromising pragmatist -- forced to come to terms with one another before the Mary Poppins generations of children have known and loved can be brought to the silver screen.

Saving Mr. Banks departs from the reality of the Disney/Travers battleground early and often. While it did take Walt Disney nearly two decades to obtain the rights to Travers' book (none of which we see in the film), and while she did indeed travel to Los Angeles and serve as a thorn in the side of the Mary Poppins production team (as depicted), Disney had already acquired the rights to her book. Travers was a hypercritical consultant with contractual script approval, yes... which Disney shrewdly trumped later with final cut powers. The enormous sway the author holds over the course of Saving Mr. Banks? Largely fiction. The threat of the production falling apart? Fiction. Travers' ultimately teary, cathartic reception of Mary Poppins at its Hollywood premiere? The good terms on which she and Walt Disney depart? A nice moment but, you guessed it, complete and total fiction. Travers hated the version of Mary Poppins that made it to theaters, and didn't hide her feelings. And if such fundamental components of Hancock, Marcel and Smith's adaptation are so loosely inspired by true events, how are we to separate fact from fiction elsewhere? Suddenly the entire film is called into question, all for a little extra dramatic punch that, ironically, is undermined by the elusiveness of its historical accuracy.

And yet... "Inspired by." "Based on." These are Saving Mr. Banks' saving graces. So the Cult of Walt once again fudges the facts. Better to err on the side of optimism than skepticism. So the Disney marketing machine's deification of its legendary founder continues. If anyone deserves Hollywood deification, it's Walt. So Hancock and Disney proper are more interested in delivering a warm, heartfelt family dramedy than a more revealing, more complex glimpse into an uncommonly rocky Walt Disney production. Did anyone want The Social Network of Mary Poppins tell-alls? So the laughs are all at Travers' expense, who serves as both protagonist and antagonist in her own character arc. Does it render the film inert? Lessen its warmth, good-natured humor, the infectiousness of its classic Sherman Brothers songs, or the power of its third act as Mary Poppins comes to life on screen for the first time? Not at all. There's a purity to Hancock's saccharine biopic (some will call it a naiveté) that makes for a more streamlined, effective and moving story than perhaps the events upon which it's based. Thompson's Travers comes out looking much better for the wear than her real-life counterpart, and Hanks' performance as Walt Disney is so perfect -- so captivating, entertaining and engaging -- I'd be first in line to see any future films that seated Hanks at the head of the Mouse House table. I'm just waiting for the Nine Old Men casting call.

Saving Mr. Banks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Saving Mr. Banks features a handsome 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation free from any serious issue or blemish. The film's sun-cast 1960s California palette is awash with golden hues, striking sepia-kissed colors, nicely saturated skintones, deep blacks and unexpectedly strong primaries. (Albeit a bit too strong. Travers' lipstick and other cherry reds sometimes exhibit a slight, unnatural pop.) Contrast and clarity are excellent as well, and quite consistent. Detail is exacting, with crisp, clean edges, impeccably resolved fine textures, and a light, pleasing hint of grain. The only softness to be found is optical and intentional. Artifacting, banding, aliasing and other encoding anomalies are absent as well, although a small amount of crush creeps in when the lights go down, night falls or Hollywood premieres begin. All told, Saving Mr. Banks looks every bit as good as it's meant to, without any real problems to report.

Saving Mr. Banks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track exercises restraint and humility, although rarely at the expense of the experience. Dialogue is intelligible, nicely grounded and smartly prioritized, without exception. LFE output is subdued but satisfying, adding convincing presence to an array of naturalistic low-end elements. The rear speakers follow suit, filling each scene with pleasant ambience and directionality. The resulting soundfield isn't all that spectacular per se, but it remains inviting throughout. Disarming even. Walt and Pamela's trip to Disneyland gives the mix more to play with -- bustling crowds, clamoring fans, distant attractions and stirring carousel rides -- as do the Sherman Brothers' songs, which fill the small studio Schwartzman, Novak and Whitford perform them in believably and beautifully. Saving Mr. Banks isn't a sonic showcase, but neither is the film. I didn't come away with any complaints.

Saving Mr. Banks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• From Poppins to the Present (HD, 15 minutes): Hancock hosts this trip back and forth through time, touching on the early diversification of Disney's projects and brand, the look of the film (with production designer Michael Corenblith), the development and production of Mary Poppins, and the Disney Animation Studios, past and present. Interviews with former employees and family members abound, and make for a quaint but enjoyable featurette.
• Let's Go Fly a Kite (HD, 2 minutes): This brief follow-up finds Mary Poppins co-songwriter Richard Sherman leading a round of "Let's Go Fly a Kite" with the Saving Mr. Banks cast and crew on the last day of filming.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 7 minutes): Three deleted scenes include: "Stargaze," "Nanny Song" and "Pam Leaves."
• Trailers & Sneak Peeks (HD, 6 minutes): Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty and Mary Poppins.

Saving Mr. Banks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The real battle in Saving Mr. Banks isn't between Walt Disney and P.L. Travers, it's between fact and fiction. Even without digging into the events that inspired the film, it's pretty clear the real driving force here is screenwriters' discretion. Fortunately, Hanks, Thompson and a strong supporting cast, as well as the soul and spirit of Mary Poppins itself, help Saving Mr. Banks' lesser qualities go down with a spoonful of sugar. Disney's Blu-ray release is better, thanks to a lovely video presentation and solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. Just be prepared to overlook the rather disappointing lack of significant extras.