Saving Mr. Banks: Thompson and Hanks Clash Over Mary Poppins Rights

Saving Mr. Banks is a film about a woman who doesn’t want to sell her soul and a man who thinks he can buy it anyway. Emma Thompson plays P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, who travels to Los Angeles in 1961 to meet Walt Disney about adapting her beloved books for the big screen. Tom Hanks plays Disney himself, and the movie treats their standoff as a clash between imagination and commerce. It’s a drama about creative control, family trauma, and the strange power of a children’s book to carry adult grief. It’s also a comedy about the difference between British reserve and American exuberance, and it wants to be both things at once.

The film opens in London in 1961, where Travers is struggling. Her royalties have dried up, she’s written nothing new, and she risks losing her house. Her literary agent, Diarmuid Russell, urges her to go to Los Angeles and meet Disney, who has pursued the rights to her books for twenty years after promising his daughters he’d produce a film based on them. Travers has steadfastly resisted, fearing what Disney will do to her character. Russell reminds her that Disney has agreed to two major stipulations: no animation and unprecedented script approval. That finally convinces her to agree.

The flashbacks are the heart of the film. They show Travers’s difficult childhood in Allora, Queensland, Australia in 1906. Her father, Travers Robert Goff, was a loving, imaginative man whose chronic alcoholism led to repeated dismissals, strained her parents’ marriage, and caused her distressed mother’s attempted suicide. Goff died from tuberculosis when Travers was eight years old. Her mother’s stern, practical sister, Margaret Goff, came to live with the family and later served as the main inspiration for the Mary Poppins character. The film draws a clear line between the tragedy of Travers’s youth and the warmth of the stories she wrote to escape it.

In Los Angeles, Travers is shocked by the city’s nature and its overly perky inhabitants. Her chauffeur, Ralph, played by Paul Giamatti, is a cheerful man who represents the film’s view of America as relentlessly cheerful. At the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, she meets the creative team developing Mary Poppins: screenwriter Don DaGradi, played by Bradley Whitford, and songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman, played by Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak. She finds their presumptions and casual manners highly improper, and she holds the same view of the jocular Disney. Their working relationship is difficult from the outset, with Travers insisting that Mary Poppins must remain true to the books.

Thompson’s Travers

Emma Thompson gives a performance that is both brittle and tender. Travers is a woman who has spent decades protecting her memories, and Thompson shows the layers of that protection: the anger, the pride, the fear, the love. She’s not a villain, but she’s not a saint either. Thompson plays her as a woman who has made a career out of saying no, and the film respects that refusal even as it pushes her toward a yes.

Tom Hanks is the opposite kind of performer. He plays Disney as a man who believes he can fix everything with enthusiasm and money. His version of Disney is charming, persistent, and slightly oblivious. The film doesn’t make him a monster, but it doesn’t let him off easy either. Hanks has to play a man who genuinely loves Travers’s books and genuinely misunderstands her, and he does it with a smile that never quite fades.

Farrell’s Father

Colin Farrell plays Travers Robert Goff, the man on whom the Mr. Banks character is based. He’s a loving father who is also self-destructive, and Farrell captures both sides without tipping into sentimentality. Ruth Wilson plays Margaret Goff, Travers’s mother’s sister, who becomes the model for Mary Poppins. Paul Giamatti’s Ralph is a comic presence, but the film uses him to make a larger point about American cheerfulness.

The Supporting Cast

Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak play the Sherman brothers, who wrote the songs for Mary Poppins. Bradley Whitford plays Don DaGradi, the screenwriter. Kathy Baker plays Tommie, Disney’s executive assistant, and Melanie Paxson plays Dolly, Disney’s secretary. Ronan Vibert plays Diarmuid Russell, Travers’s agent. Kristopher Kyer plays Dick Van Dyke and Victoria Summer plays Julie Andrews, both uncredited.

What Works

The film’s best scenes are the ones that show Travers’s past. The flashback sequences are handled with restraint, and Thompson’s performance carries the weight of a lifetime of loss. The film also gets some of the business details right, including the stipulations about animation and script approval. These are small victories, but they matter.

What Doesn’t Work

The film struggles to balance its tones. It wants to be a drama about creative integrity, but it keeps cutting to the Shermans singing and dancing. The musical numbers are pleasant, but they undercut the tension of Travers’s negotiations. The film also leans on the idea that Travers is a British lady who can’t handle American cheer, which feels like a stereotype dressed up as insight.

The pacing is uneven. Some stretches drag, particularly the scenes of Travers walking around Los Angeles, while others rush through important conversations. The film also spends too much time establishing the Disney team’s personalities before getting to the substance of their disagreements.

The Score

Saving Mr. Banks is a film with a clear purpose, but it doesn’t always hit it. Thompson gives a performance that will likely be remembered for years, and the film’s treatment of Travers’s childhood is sensitive and well-made. But the tonal shifts and pacing issues keep it from being a great film. It’s a good film with a great heart, but it doesn’t quite earn the greatness.

Key Facts Box

• Title: Saving Mr. Banks
• Director: John Lee Hancock
• Writer: Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith
• Runtime: 126 minutes
• Genre: Comedy, Drama, History
• Tagline: “Where her book ended, their story began.”

Schedule Table

The film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 20, 2013, and was released in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2013. It was distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Saving Mr. Banks is a film about the price of adaptation, and it knows that price well. Travers sells her book to Disney, but she doesn’t sell her soul. The film honors that distinction, even as it dramatizes the messy process of making it happen. It’s a film about memory, creativity, and the stubbornness of writers who won’t let their characters be ruined. It’s also a film about a woman who finally says yes, and the relief that comes with it.

Emma Thompson · Mary Poppins · movie review · Saving Mr. Banks · Tom Hanks