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Saving Mr. Banks

Play trailer Poster for Saving Mr. Banks PG-13 2013 2h 5m Drama Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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79% Tomatometer 262 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Spurred on by a promise he made to his daughters, Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) embarks on what would become a 20-year quest to obtain the movie rights to "Mary Poppins." The author, P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), proves to be an uncompromising curmudgeon who has no intention of letting her beloved characters become mangled in the Hollywood machine. However, when the books stop selling and she finds herself in need of money, Travers reluctantly agrees to consider Disney's proposition.
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Saving Mr. Banks

Saving Mr. Banks

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Critics Consensus

Aggressively likable and sentimental to a fault, Saving Mr. Banks pays tribute to the Disney legacy with excellent performances and sweet, high-spirited charm.

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Critics Reviews

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Laura Mandanas Autostraddle 06/14/2021
The movie is charming and Emma Thompson, per usual, makes for an utterly endearing misanthrope. However, I have to question the decision to gloss over Travers' queer identity. Go to Full Review
Deborah Ross The Spectator 09/05/2018
It is not a taxing film. You always know where it's going and, with its rather melodramatic flashbacks, there is no ambiguity as to where it is coming from, but neither matters as much as they should as there is just so much joy to be had otherwise. Go to Full Review
Candice Frederick Reel Talk Online 09/06/2017
B-
... it follows the Disney modus operandi of ultimately exalting even the most unlikable characters in order to satisfy their traditional family audiences. Go to Full Review
Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson Jul 28
4/5
"Saving Mr. Banks" is likely very much the Disney side of the story, but the film puts great effort forward to make the journey of P. L. Travers the emotional center of the story, just as it should. Go to Full Review
JD Duran InSession Film 08/19/2024
A-
Saving Mr. Banks is a good movie that most audiences will enjoy, despite a few flaws. I'm not 100% convinced this is a movie for children, even though it's a Disney film about a Disney film. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 08/19/2022
2.5/4
In traditional Disney fashion, something true has been transformed into a heartwarming, overly saccharine commercial. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Matthew D @OceanSage 6d A wonderful feelgood movie that uplifts with real heart. Director John Lee Hancock’s historical comedy-drama Saving Mr. Banks (2013) is an easy watch with production designer Michael Corenblith beautifully recreating Disneyland of the 1960’s. Emma Thompson is funny as the stuffy and proper P.L. Travers with her distrustfulness about Walt Disney’s practices and shameful hatred of animation. She’s also very touching as she remembers her father. Colin Farrell is sublime as the dreamy and encouraging father to Travers. Tom Hanks is hilarious, charming, affable, and silly as Walt Disney. He captures the public persona of Walt Disney lovingly, while ignoring Disney’s harder attributes. Paul Giamatti’s amiable Disney chauffeur Ralph is wonderfully sincere and positive. Ruth Wilson is devastating as Travers’ long suffering mother. Annie Rose Buckley is quite captivating for such a young child actress with her eyes saying just how upset she really is at her father’s alcoholism and decline. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Dec 3 The worldwide gross is $117,867,984.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated PG-13 for Thematic Elements and Some Unsettling Images!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Starring Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Leaburn O Nov 8 A beautifully rendered backstory to a film I was brought up watching. Well made and one of the more impressive non animation Disney films. Watched on BluRay. See more Eddy C Sep 21 Great performances, great editing and actinmg. Emma Thompson is amazing as always, as is Tom Hanks ofcourse. Perfect casting for Walt. Emotional, fun, uplifting and I really loved this movie See more Scotty M @ScottyReviews Jun 26 Watching Saving Mr. Banks reminded me in the best possible ways of the classic Disney movies I grew up watching. It is comical, emotional, and suited for just about any audience, although it may not be enjoyable for young children with its serious, and sometimes melancholy, content. This exciting film pays incredible respect to the enchanting story of Mary Poppins. Taking place in the 1960s, Pamela “P.L.” Travers, Australian-English-American author of a series of children’s novels involving the magical English nanny Mary Poppins, is struggling financially and has no choice but to sell the rights to her stories to filmmaker Walt Disney. Travers is immediately put off by the idea of turning her stories into one of Disney’s fun, animated musicals, and we soon find out that there is a personal meaning and deeper, not-so-cheerful inspiration for the light and enjoyable Mary Poppins we know today from the Disney film. Slowly and surely, Walt Disney and a group of comical and idiosyncratic writers and composers translate the story into a movie with strict help from Travers and a lot of creativity! From her first step into Hollywood, Travers is taken aback by the theatrics and is extremely sceptical about selling her story to Disney. Throughout the film, we learn that the character of Mary Poppins and related material are more to Travers than just a story; they were produced from memories of her somewhat difficult childhood. Living in a completely different lifestyle than shown in the film Mary Poppins, Travers’ family is having major problems, and her Aunt Ellie comes to help. The audience cannot help but notice the similarities of Mary Poppins arriving to save the day, and as Travers early years unfold, we see some of the history and meaning behind the creation of Mary Poppins and the Banks family. At the same time, we see the pain and scars that Travers carries, the cause behind the creation of these iconic characters, and reason why Travers feels the need to protect them. The film goes back and forth between the 1960s with Travers making the film with Disney and Travers’ childhood playing out as she explains her reasoning for being so reserved with the story. There is much that is moving throughout the film, but it does a great job of creating parallels between the film Mary Poppins, paying homage to adored characters, and developing a more in-depth, engaging back story into the creation of a likable Disney classic. One of the best things of this movie is the music and dialogue straight from the Mary Poppins movie. Emma Thompson is a proper, sarcastically funny, comparable version of Mary Poppins herself, and I couldn't have picked a better person to play Walt Disney, as Tom Hanks portrays a charming, lovable, and superb character that offers inspiration, guidance and a kind heart. Saving Mr. Banks is filled with other entertaining, eccentric, and endearing performances that support the film perfectly. The leads me into my favourite character, performance and part within the movie. Colin Farrell plays Travers Goff, the father of "Ginty". His vital role in the movie shows just how much of an important impact a father is. His imagination is what really leaves an imprint on Ginty (Emma Thompson herself). In my opinion he steals the movie and plays the most important role and influence within the story. His inspiration and imagination really inspired me. I see myself in his character so much as he truly believe that if you chase your dreams, then there are endless possibilities. There's a scene in which Ginty is pretending to lay eggs because she wants to be a hen for the day. Her father gets super defensive at the thought and idea of anything getting in the way of his daughters imagination. This scene really stood out to me and made me realize the importance of a father figure such as this. This film really stood out to me as one of the best Disney movies. It wasn't your typical Disney movie because it really took you into the life of one of the most enjoyable stories that Walt ever brought to life. Once you watch this, you'll never look at Mary Poppins the same. You'll realize just how much more iconic the story is after you've witnessed the past that lead up to the story being bought. See more May 9 This is such an underrated film. The acting, the editing, all so good. See more Read all reviews
Saving Mr. Banks

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis Spurred on by a promise he made to his daughters, Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) embarks on what would become a 20-year quest to obtain the movie rights to "Mary Poppins." The author, P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), proves to be an uncompromising curmudgeon who has no intention of letting her beloved characters become mangled in the Hollywood machine. However, when the books stop selling and she finds herself in need of money, Travers reluctantly agrees to consider Disney's proposition.
Director
John Lee Hancock
Producer
Alison Owen, Ian Collie, Philip Steuer
Screenwriter
Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith
Distributor
Walt Disney
Production Co
Easy Tiger Productions, Ruby Films, Essential Media and Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Some Unsettling Images)
Genre
Drama, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 20, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 3, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$83.3M
Runtime
2h 5m
Sound Mix
Datasat, Dolby Digital
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