Saving Mr. Banks

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Saving Mr. Banks

PG-13

Released Dec 20, 2013

2h 5m

Drama

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

79%

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261 Reviews

84%

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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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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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Laura Mandanas

Autostraddle

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.

Jun 14, 2021

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

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.

Sep 5, 2018

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

... it follows the Disney modus operandi of ultimately exalting even the most unlikable characters in order to satisfy their traditional family audiences.

Rated: B-

Sep 6, 2017

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JD Duran

InSession Film

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.

Rated: A-

Aug 19, 2024

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

In traditional Disney fashion, something true has been transformed into a heartwarming, overly saccharine commercial.

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 19, 2022

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Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

Uniformly excellent performances to cover the movie's languid pacing.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 1, 2021

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Audience Member

This is such an underrated film. The acting, the editing, all so good.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/09/25

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Molly P

This movie comes very close to capturing the magic of the Mary Poppins movie. I know it was not completely true to real events, but I loved the premise of it and I feel like it explained the moral of the Mary Poppins movie extremely well.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/03/25

Full Review

Bobby B

A charming little film with Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson as standout performamces. I'm just sad they skipped the real life bit at the premieres after party where Travers stands up and demands they remove the dancing penguins.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/01/25

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Henrik S

Excellent cast, moving story. And the music, of course, is beyond brilliant.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/31/24

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Audience Member

Lack of character depth becomes a huge problem despite the good performances of Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks is the major problem.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/20/24

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Dale R

A Disney-fied version of the creation of the movie Mary Poppins and Walt Disney’s attempts to obtain the rights to the character from her creator P. L. Travers. Tom Hanks is truly one of the best actors to grace the screen as not once during the film did I think that he was an actor portraying Walt Disney, instead I felt that was Disney on screen. Emma Thompson also does a great job portraying P. L. Travers. I’m on the fence about the changes in the narrative from history. The story here is well told and engaging throughout, but the ending is altered to give a Disney positive spin on the true story that I rightly predicted that Disney wouldn’t have the courage to tell. Still, I think this movie is worth a watch.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/07/24

Full Review

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John Lee Hancock

Director

Emma Thompson

P.L. Travers

Tom Hanks

Walt Disney

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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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