A Proper Flight of Fancy: Mary Poppins

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

That's what you say when you don't know what to say. At least, that's what Mary Poppins asserts. A family favorite for years, the movie Mary Poppins was released in 1964. Julie Andrews made her film debut playing Mary, and her portrayal won her an Academy Award for Best Actress. Dick Van Dyke played her on-screen Scintillator sidekick—a Cockney-spewing chimney sweep named Bert. At the start of the movie, Mary is seen sitting on a cloud powdering her nose, carpet bag and folded umbrella at her side. Healers never show up unless perspectives are in need of broadening or changing, and it's this destiny appointment that Mary Poppins awaits.

17 Cherry Tree Lane is home of George Banks, Esq., his wife Winifred, and children Jane and Michael. Chaos has broken out, because Katy Nanna, the Nanny, has decided to up and quit. Jane and Michael have run away for the fourth time this week, and she's had enough of their shenanigans. Because Mrs. Banks has hired 6 nannies, all of which have been disasters, Mr. Banks takes it upon himself to put an advertisement in the paper. In his Diligent opinion, he feels the new nanny should govern the children just like a bank: with precision. The children, having earlier been found and brought home by a constable, come into the room with their requirements for a nanny. Mr. Banks sends them to the nursery, tears up what they had written, and tosses it into the fireplace. The next morning there is a queue of nannies at the door. The children look out the second story window and sadly express "they're not what we advertised for at all". Just then, a strong wind arrives, and blows away the applicants. Mary Poppins comes floating down via her opened umbrella, the only applicant standing at the door. She walks in briskly, and when asked by Mr. Banks for her references, she replies "they're old fashioned". She reads the ad's requirements back to Mr. Banks, but it's not his ad she's holding...it's the one the children wrote... mysteriously reassembled. Mary then takes immediate charge of the children, and the Banks' excitedly agree that she'll be firm, give commands, and mold them. It's immediately apparent that Mary Poppins isn't an ordinary nanny. Out of her carpet bag she pulls things like a large wall mirror, hat rack, and plant. Mary responds to the children's incredulity "Never judge by appearances...not even a carpet bag. I know I never do". She notices that the nursery is in disarray, and suggests a game of "Well begun is half done". This translates as "Let's tidy up the nursery". Michael says to his sister "I told you she was tricky". Jane asks Mary, "It is a game, isn't it?" Mary replies "it depends on your point of view. In every job to be done, there is an element of fun. Find the fun, and SNAP! the job's a game. It's all a matter of perspective to Mary, a reflection of her Healer Worker Boss. Mary's Evokateur Thinking is evident throughout the movie, as well. Although she acts as though the odd situations she originates are completely normal, it's obvious to most everyone else that they're anything but. She takes the ordinary and everyday mundane, and changes it into an Evokateurland filled with wonder. But the best part is, she brings us into this enchanted world as well. While Mary and the children are on their way to the park for an outing, they run into Bert, the chimney sweep. Bert, an old friend of Mary's, was in the middle of making one of his sidewalk chalk drawings. He says to them "Other nannies take children to the park, but when your with Mary Poppins, you find yourself in places you've never dreamed of." Bert tells the children that they can enter in any of the worlds that the chalk drawings portray. He appeals to Mary to make it happen, and it's then that we start to see even more of her proper and seemly Diligent emoting: "I have no intention of making a spectacle of myself", she protests. After Bert's failed attempt, she then takes them into the chalk drawing, which is the countryside with a Curry Fair. She even exclaims "Control yourself", as if there is some propriety to even the surreal situations they find themselves in. She and Bert dance and dine with penguins while the children are off playing. Then, they all meet up at the carousel. But with Mary, nothing is as it seems. The carousel horses break free, and then it's on to a leisurely ride, a fox hunt, and then a horse race. Practically perfect Mary wins the race, but as they are celebrating and singing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidoscious", it begins to rain, and the smudged chalk results in them returning to the real"world. Back at house in the nursery, the children beg Mary to stay as their nanny. She says matter of factly that she'll stay until the wind changes. The children excitedly review the days events, and then Mary denies that she was ever in a horse race. "A respectable person like me, in a horse race?" Jane and Michael protest, "but we saw you!", and she admonishes them to go to sleep. On another day, they find Uncle Albert on the ceiling, hysterical with laughter. Bert begins to laugh, and so do the children. As a result, they end up on the ceiling, as well. Mary comments in disgust, "Such behaviour. The most disgraceful thing I've ever seen. Children, it's time for tea. I will not have my schedule interrupted!" So she floats up to join them for tea. She warns them to stop laughing like a pack of hyenas, and exclaims "Children, will you sit up properly at the table!" What an odd juxtaposition to see reality bent and logic defied with Evokateur flair, while having Diligent social sophistication dictate what is proper. Later that day, she suggests to Mr. Banks that the children go on an outing to the bank with him to learn how to "walk the straight and narrow with pride". Of course, Mary has other ideas as to what will happen, but Mr. Banks concurs that it's a wonderful idea. When Mary goes upstairs to the children, she tells them of the outing tomorrow. Jane says excitedly, "We'll get to see the city, and father can point out the sites!" Mary solemnly replies, "Well, most things he can. Sometimes those we love, through no fault of their own, can't see past the end of his nose. The next day, Michael has a tuppence and he wants to buy food to feed the birds. Mr. Banks thinks this is ridiculous, and they head into the bank. While there, Michael creates a ruckus by refusing to invest his tuppence (in front of the bank founder and other trustees, no less), and his outcry causes a run on the bank. Later, at the Banks home, Mr. Banks is downtrodden, and laments to Bert (who is at the house to clean the chimney) "It's that woman Mary Poppins! You know what I think? Ever since she's stepped foot in this house, things began to happen to me. My world was calm, well ordered, exemplary. Then came this person with chaos in her wake. And now my life's ambition goes, with one fell blow, it's quite a bitter pill to take." Bert talks about Mary's unique way of looking at things and George exclaims "This is what I mean! Changing bread and water into tea and cakes! No wonder this house is hickilty pickility!" Bert replies "You've got to grind, grind, grind at that grindstone. Though childhood slips like sand through a sieve. And all too soon they've up and grown, and then they've flown, and it's too late for you to give...just that spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down..." Soon after, George gets a call from the other bankers in the firm telling him to come to the bank at once. They subsequently fire him, blaming him for Michael's outburst that caused the run on the bank. Something comes over George and he repeats a joke he heard from Michael (a joke that he not only didn't get earlier, but scorned at). He laughs freely and unashamedly, as if he has a new lease on life. He exlclaims "Mary Poppins was right! Mr. Banks arrives home in disarray, but jubilant. His wife asks with concern, "But George, what will you do?", and he replies, "I may pop through a chalk drawing, or have tea on the ceiling..." He then picks her up and spins her around while singing. The wind changes direction, and Mary Poppins is packing away her things. Michael says "She doesn't care about us." Jane answers, "she only promised to stay until the wind changes. Mary Poppins, don't you love us?" Mary says, "what would happen to me, may I ask, if I loved all the children I say goodbye to? " The children go downstairs, and Mr. Banks has fixed Michael's kite for him. Michael asks "however did you manage it?", and Mr. Banks exclaims, "With tuppence for paper and string, you can have your own set of wings..." A big difference in attitude towards the tuppence he was trying to force Michael to invest. Mary looks out the window to see the family skipping down the sidewalk to go fly their kite in the park. Mr. Banks gets his job back, and a new respect and appreciation for his life and family. And the children have gained a new understanding that sometimes cages come in bank-sized shapes. Just like that spoonful of sugar, Mary Poppins delivered her brand of "medicine", and when it ran it's course, Self-doubt clouds dissipated, and perspectives shifted. All in a day's work for this Healer. Mary Poppins: Evokateur/Healer/Diligent

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