Saving PL Travers

EIGHT INSIGHTS FROM THE RECENT FILM “SAVING MR. BANKS"

"The wind’s in the east and a mist coming in, like something is brewing and about to begin. I can't put me finger on what lies in store, but I fear what's to happen, all happened before!" - Bert the Chimney Sweep from "the Mary Poppins" film.

As a child I can remember no better visit to the cinema than the first time I saw the film “Mary Poppins.” It made me laugh, it made me cry and best of all it made me think about my Dad. Up to that point in time it was my Mum who was the central character to my little life and to this day her influence on my character is plain for all those who knew her to see. My Dad was someone I hadn’t taken that much notice of he worked three jobs, one of them was through the night, which enabled him to take work through the day. It was the Disney film based on PL Travers Mary Poppins book which alerted me to the plight of my Father’s labours in making ends meet.

Bert: “Begging your pardon, but the one my heart goes out to is your father. There he is in that cold, heartless bank day after day, hemmed in by mounds of cold, heartless money. I don't like to see any living thing caged up.” Jane: “Father? In a cage?” Bert: “They makes cages in all sizes and shapes, you know. Bank-shaped, some of 'em, carpets and all.”

In later life, my Dad became my hero; a place no-one else will ever remove him from. It seems that subconsciously at least I had understood the intention of the makers of the Mary Poppins film, that the central character wasn’t there to care for the children, but to embolden and release their father from his bank-shaped cage and to alert the children to his place of importance in their lives. Recently after watching Mary Poppins dozens of times with our children whilst they were growing up, my eldest daughter bought the recently released DVD “Saving Mr Banks.” It has been my joy to watch the film twice and to gain the following insights from the film.

1). ALWAYS KEEP YOUR PROMISES: Walt Disney was a man who had promised Sharon and Diane his daughters that one day he would make a film of their much loved children’s book character Mary Poppins. It took him twenty years to persuade PL Travers to sign over the rights to make the film, but in doing so (at least in this film version anyway) he made a promise to the author to make Mr Banks, who we learn is a representation of PL Travers father, into a hero.

2). ALLOW FILM-MAKERS TO USE DRAMATIC AND POETIC LICENCE: The central character of the new film dies an alcoholic, but according to Wikipedia he died of influenza. The author PL Travers was against the improperness of the presumption and optimism of the people she met in Los Angeles and the effect they were having on the big screen representation of her book saying that “Mary Poppins is the enemy of sentiment and whimsy!” I am with the Sherman brother’s on this when they asked her “Does it really matter?” with the implication that as long as the true meaning of the story gets across the fine detail of the story and even some of its gravitas could be lost without any harm being done.

3). DESPITE ITS FAULTS AND FAILINGS FAMILY IS IMPORTANT TO US ALL: Both filmmaker and author had less than ideal childhoods.
Elias Disney had been overall a good father, celebrated in Disneyland with a shop window that displays his name, and yet one of his acts of desperation in keeping his newspaper delivery business afloat was to use the unpaid services of his children Roy (at age 10) and Walt (at age 8) despite their shoes having holes and the snow being deep.
And then, Travers Goff who was sacked as Manager of the bank and demoted to Bank Clerk, maybe due to his alcoholism which the film portrays took him to an early death; yet though Walt Disney’s changes to the intended story line made him into a hero and to be loved not just by PL Travers but children like me all over the world.

4). IT IS OK TO TRUST OTHERS WITH OUR MOST PRECIOUS THOUGHTS: Walt Disney remembered how possessive he had been about a few line drawings of Mickey Mouse way back in the early days, so he knew how PL Travers felt about Mary Poppins. Just like the memories of their imperfect fathers, their own creations were “family” too and although it is difficult to trust others with something that we have created, whether it be an idea, a book and especially our children (in the case of parental approval for would be partners) we need to lighten up and become those who allow the kaleidoscope of human existence and interaction to continue on without us, as one day it most certainly will.

5). THAT WHICH SEPERATES US IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN WHAT UNITES US: According to the “Saving Mr Banks” film story what allowed Disney to make the film was the finding of common ground between the two main characters. As we know the Disney Organisation and Hollywood biopics don’t always stick to the facts and yet they are excellent story tellers. As I see it the main function of a story teller, is not how accurately the story is told, but the impact it has on the reader of the story. If we can see the problems that other people are experiencing either in a book or a film and how they handle those problems we may then be able to live our lives more fully? Finding things that unite us with those we seem to be at odds with, is a most certain way forward to the resolution of future conflicts we may encounter.

6). IT IS WORTH CONSIDERING SHEDDING OUR DEEPLY ROOTED DISAPPOINTMENTS: At the end of the film “Saving Mr Banks” Walt Disney appeals to PL Travers to do a rethink about the way she lives her life. He suggests that she expected to be disappointed by him and the Disney staff members and went about finding ways for her prior analysis to become true. Yes life can be harsh and things may not work out the exact way we want them to be, but it is still within our control to rise up above the unpleasant circumstances of our lives and find that we are surprised by a joy, which has been waiting for so long to meet us!

7). PEOPLE ARE MORE COMPLICATED THAN FILMS CAN EVER PORTRAY: I recently read a quote from Emma Thompson who like all great actors did much research into the life of Helen Goff (PL Travers was just a nom de plume like my Barnabas is) and said of her that she was “… a woman of quite eye-watering complexity and contradiction.”

8). NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO BE SAVED: I see another story being told in the film “Saving Mr Banks” one that as in all Disney and Hollywood films has a happy ending. We not only see the reputation of Travers Goff being redeemed, but we also see a transformation, of sorts, take place in the thinking of PL Travers too. But, like I said the biopic truth of Hollywood and the facts of reality don’t always match. Having read about the life of Helen Goff, not to the depth that Emma Thompson did I have found that she didn’t change her attitude towards what Disney did to her beloved Mary Poppins, refusing to watch the film after it’s opening night at the Chinese Theatre in LA for 20 years and making sure no Americans were involved in the stage show which was made in the 1980’s.

PL Travers was true to herself, she didn’t allow the schmaltz and sentimentality of Hollywood to change her, she didn’t let her perception of the improperness of the Americans desire to behave in a presumptuous and optimistic way to change her character. Not everyone wants to change or be saved or indeed believe that they have a need for salvation from who they are.

Love and light to you from Barnabas
To download a FREE audio copy of my article please visit:
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/fccexkzopssx290/EJ_003_-_SAVING_PL_TRAVERS.mp3

"You know, you can say it backwards, which is "docious-ali-expi-istic-fragil-cali-rupus" - but that's going a bit too far, don't you think? - Mary Poppins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058331/quotes
http://www.hypable.com/2014/01/10/saving-mr-banks-mary-poppins-facts/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._L._Travers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Poppins
http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/saving-mr-banks.php