Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
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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.
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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Two-time Academy Award (R)-winner Emma Thompson and fellow double Oscar (R)-winner Tom Hanks topline Disney's "Saving Mr. Banks," inspired by the extraordinary, untold backstory of how Disney's classic "Mary Poppins" made it to the screen. When Walt Disney's daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers' "Mary Poppins," he made them a promise-one that he didn't realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a … More- Rating:
- PG-13 (for thematic elements including some unsettling images)
- Genre:
- Drama , Comedy
- Directed By:
- John Lee Hancock
- Written By:
- Kelly Marcel , Sue Smith
- In Theaters:
- Dec 20, 2013 Wide
- On DVD:
- Mar 18, 2014
- US Box Office:
- $83.3M
Cast
-
Emma Thompson
as P.L. Travers -
Tom Hanks
as Walt Disney -
Colin Farrell
as Robert Goff Travers -
Bradley Whitford
as Don DaGradi -
Paul Giamatti
as Ralph -
Jason Schwartzman
as Richard Morton Sherm...
Related News & Features
-
PBS Plans Walt Disney Biopic
– Variety
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Critic Reviews for Saving Mr. Banks
All Critics (230) | Top Critics (46) | Fresh (183) | Rotten (47) | DVD (2)
The whole thing leaves you with an appalling chill. It feels like a warning from Hollywood to the ambivalent creators of anything: Take the spoonful of sugar or we'll force-feed it to you.
Pencil Thompson in now for an Oscar nomination, and maybe a win, and prepare to leave the theater humming the iconic songs.
The sap doesn't run too thick, although it does run, and the movie certainly has a patented Disney upbeat feel much of the time. It's more a spoonful of sugar than medicine for aging baby boomer's souls.
Smart, delightful.
Saving Mr Banks is a merciless film. It hits you with every sentimental low blow it can think of. Then it pounds you again. And when you're down, it jumps on you.
"Saving Mr. Banks" is a shameless wad of corporate PR, a feel-good, self-serving Disney film about the making of a Disney film.
The picture is eventually about the therapeutic limitations of art even while celebrating the very real effect it can have on people who need it.
It's a wonderful film that deserves your attention, and that you deserve to experience.
Beautifully ambitious and eagerly constructed, the success of Walt Disney Studios' homage to its heritage is anchored magnificently by the crowning work of Emma Thompson's career.
A familiar and very satisfying collision of art versus commerce or lowbrow, mainstream taste...versus highbrow sophistication.
... would have been better suited as a Disney special or an extra on a Blu-ray release of Mary Poppins rather than a vehicle for awards season.
Emma Thompson's character comes off as the stodgy Fun Police, rather than an author trying to protect her work.
Genial, inconsequential, deeply odd but not quite "quirky."
This is Disney wielding its cultural influence as an emotional cattle prod.
Saving Mr Banks is an unexpected gem, a witty and warm-hearted celebration of two great storytellers that adroitly balances delicious culture-clash comedy with affecting biographical insights.
There's great care to preserve the Disney brand with this film, which at times goes overboard with its reverence but never stoops to the point of being cheesy.
Mostra-se tão determinado a santificar Walt que, para isso, demoniza P.L. Travers, unindo-se aos recentes Hitchcock e A Garota em um gênero que gosto de chamar de "cinema-tabloide".
It's a welcome surprise to find that Saving Mr. Banks is smart enough not to overdose on the sweet stuff.
This is an utterly captivating origin story on how the all singing, all dancing, iconic technicolour musical (with bells on) -- Mary Poppins came to be.
Saving Mr. Banks depicts cinema as a perverse nexus of capitalism and psychoanalysis.
This too is a Disney movie, of course, with little to say about artistic integrity but lots of commonsense encouragement to revisit Mary Poppins.
As with so many American films of late, the acting in Saving Mr Banks is superlative...Tom Hanks presents Walt Disney as a lovable extension of his TV persona while Emma Thompson is the stone-heart whose must inevitably soften.
Saving Mr Banks is perfectly gauged to suit its subject matter - the light touch of Disney and the toughness of Travers, the slickness of Hollywood and the roughness of the Aussie outback.
Forget super. This bighearted and intelligent drama is supercalifragili. . . .you get the idea
Many have already raved about how this it distorts the truth about the relationship between 'Uncle Walt' Disney and PL Travers (AKA Helen Lyndon Goff), and yet it is enjoyable - as long as you accept that it's sheer fantasy.
Advertising that audiences have to pay to see.
Audience Reviews for Saving Mr. Banks
"INSPIRED by the extraordinary backstory of how Disney's classic "Mary Poppins" made it to the screen."
Sure they must have distorted the facts to turn it in Disney's favor, thereby making it inspirational!! While maybe a bit dramatic, the transformation of Emma's character seemed quite unrealistic. The story may work better for children, I guess. For me, even Emma and Hanks' efforts/performances proved short for Saving Mr. Banks.
Super Reviewer
Like practically the entire world I got history with Disney and so went into this with huge expectations. Big mistake. Halfway through I began wishing Travers' kin had made it instead of Disney's, if only to get a less biased viewpoint. As it is we're left with a work wherein Emma Thompson, one of the modern day greats, plays one note (bitch) for an hour and a half, and another ("I'm sorry, you were right, Unca Walt.") for the last half hour. And she's the lucky one. Tom Hanks only gets one note to play ("I'm a good guy trying to put up with you, you bitch.") It's uninspired to say the least and the reason the work disappeared as quickly as it did. Colin Farrell, Rachel Griffiths (who I love), et al? Woefully unused. This is ONLY for the unabashed Disney fan, or as an glaring example of how money ultimately writes history.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Glacial story development, and just down-right dull. Not a single noteworthy performance. How can a movie about a musical be so one-note? It may have taken Disney 20 years to make the "Mary Poppins" film -- and I felt each minute of the wait watching this snoozer.
MoreSuper Reviewer
An not to be missed true story. One of the very best films I've seen in a long time. A joyous, remarkable and astounding movie that lifts your spirits. Its pure movie pleasure. A masterpiece all together. A great story that has true honesty and levity. It's smart, funny and very compelling. A glorious all-star cast. Emma Watson and Tom Hanks are absolutely brilliant. Watson is truly fascinating totally embracing the role of the beloved author. Hanks gives a magnificent and very fun performance. Paul Giamatti is terrific. Colin Farrell is outstanding, he gives one of the best performances of his career, he's truly affecting and totally absorbs you. It's utterly delightful and filled with heart, its makes you laugh and makes you feel warm inside. One of the real true feel good movies of the year. A breathtaking and deeply moving movie that will make you want to watch it again. It restores your faith in movies, it has a wonderful blend of drama and humor.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Saving Mr. Banks Quotes
- P.L. Travers:
- If you so much as step foot in here with that trolley, I shall scream. One cannot live on cake alone!
- Robert Goff Travers:
- A man must shave, for to spare his daughters cheeks.
- P.L. Travers:
- What is wrong with his leg?
- Richard Morton Sherman:
- He got shot.
- P.L. Travers:
- That's hardly surprising. Can I expect anymore drama from anyone else?
- Ralph:
- This is your night. None of this would be possible without you.
- Walt Disney:
- Life is a harsh sentence to lay down for yourself.
- Walt Disney:
- I'm tired of remembering it that way. Aren't you tired too, Mrs. Travers? Now we all have our sad tales, but don't you want to finish the story? Let it all go and have a life that isn't dictated by the past?
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