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Mary Poppins is a fictional character and the eponymous protagonist of P. L. Travers' books of the same name along with all of their adaptations. A magical English nanny, she blows in on the east wind and arrives at the Banks home at Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London, where she is given charge of the Banks children and teaches them valuable lessons with a magical touch.Joanne Shattock (1993). "The Oxford Guide to British Women Writers". p. 430. Oxford University Press, 1993. Travers gives Poppins the accent and vocabulary of a real London nanny: cockney base notes overlaid with a strangled gentility. Julie Andrews, who played the character in the 1964 film adaptation, received an
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for Best Actress. British film magazine ''
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'' included Poppins (as played by Andrews) in their 2011 list of 100 greatest movie characters. Acclaimed for her performance as Poppins in the 2018 sequel, Emily Blunt received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. In the 2004 musical adaptation in the West End, Laura Michelle Kelly received the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Poppins.


Description of character

A quintessential English nanny, Mary Poppins is a slightly stern but caring woman, who uses magic and self-control to take care of the Banks children. She is usually identifiable by her sensible hat and parrot umbrella, which she brings with her wherever she goes on outings, she also has the power to teleport to a place she wants. She is kind towards the children, but can be firm when needed. She is "practically perfect in every way". In the film version, she is a young woman, with an air of grace and elegance about her. Author P. L. Travers was very firm about Mary Poppins' appearance in the novel's illustrations, working closely with illustrator Mary Shepard to create an image of the character. Eventually they based Mary Poppins' appearance on that of a Dutch doll: tall and bony, with short black hair, large blue eyes, a snub nose, and a prim, pursed mouth. Travers originally objected to the casting of Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, claiming that Andrews was too attractive for the role; however, upon meeting Andrews in person for the first time, Travers allegedly examined the actress for a few moments before conceding, "Well, you've the nose for it."


Books

Mary Poppins in Travers' books is strict and no-nonsense, asserting her unusual brand of discipline over the four (later five) Banks children in her charge. Mary is very vain and is always admiring herself in the mirror and other reflections. She constantly lectures the children for their "bad" behaviour, especially when they point out the magical things she does, for she constantly denies she is anything but a prim and proper lady. Mary only shows her gentler side around her friends, among them the Matchman (Bert), Mrs. Corry, and Nellie-Rubina. Mary has many relatives, each with their own supernatural or otherwise eccentric nature, at least one of whom appears in each book. She appears to be well known to every sort of magical entity (sorcerers, talking animals, etc.) that appear in the books, some of whom love her dearly and others who are quite terrified of her. Some characters, most notably an impudent jackdaw seen in the first two books, call her "The Great Exception", meaning, among other things, that she is the only human being who has retained the magical secrets infants possess (such as the power to communicate with animals) until they grow up and forget about them. Some of her adventures occur in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, others in strange realms, which later writers might identify as magical
dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coord ...
s. In literary terms, she might be described as a character who exists in every conceivable
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
genre (gothic, mythic, urban, etc.) at once: there are many strange people and phenomena in the world, but only Mary Poppins is familiar with them all. In the first book, Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London, home of the Banks family, with her travelling carpet bag, having been blown in by the east wind. She departs when she opens her umbrella, and the west wind carries her away.


Films

Mary Poppins in the Disney film, as portrayed by Julie Andrews, is also fairly stern but at the same time more gentle, cheerful, and nurturing of the two Banks children, of whom she is in charge. Mary also has a friendship with Bert ( Dick Van Dyke), a jack-of-all-trades, who is quite at home with Mary's brand of magic. She also is less vain and selfish (although there are a couple of references to her vanity when she replaces a dingy wall mirror with a more elegant one and sings a duet with her reflection), and far more sympathetic towards the two children than the nanny in the original stories. Emily Blunt portrayed Mary Poppins in the sequel '' Mary Poppins Returns''.


Stage musical

In both the West End and Broadway versions of the stage musical, the Mary Poppins character is more deliberately mysterious than in the movie version. She is slightly stricter with the children (who are also naughtier than their book and movie counterparts), but only because she wants them to become the best they can be. Mary in the stage version is also more aware of Bert's feelings towards her.


Development

Mary Poppins first appeared in the short story 'Mary Poppins and the Match Man' in 1926 and in several early bits and pieces of the first novel. P. L. Travers later changed the story of the character's origins, stating that it appeared fully formed in her mind in 1934.


Notable portrayals

* Julie Andrews, in the Disney film and in all merchandise. *
Mary Wickes Mary Wickes (born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser; June 13, 1910 – October 22, 1995) was an American actress. She often played supporting roles as prim, professional women, secretaries, nurses, nuns, therapists, teachers and housekeepers, who made ...
, in the '' Studio One'' episode "
Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film star ...
" in 1949. * Natalya Andreychenko in the 1983 Soviet film ''
Mary Poppins, Goodbye ''Mary Poppins, Goodbye'' (russian: Мэри Поппинс, до свидания!; translit. ''Meri Poppins, do svidaniya'') is a Soviet two-part musical miniseries directed by Leonid Kvinikhidze. The movie's runtime is 141 minutes spread ...
''. * Laura Michelle Kelly, in the original West End and Broadway productions of the stage musical. * Ashley Brown, in the original Broadway and original US tour productions of the stage musical. * Scarlett Strallen, in the London and Broadway productions of the stage musical. * Bianca Marroquín, in the Mexican production of the stage musical. *
Lisa O'Hare Lisa O'Hare is an English actress who has played Eliza Doolittle in ''My Fair Lady'' and the title character of ''Mary Poppins'' in the West End and UK stage. She more recently has appeared in several prime-time American television shows on TN ...
, in the London and UK tour production of the stage musical. * Caroline Sheen, in the original UK tour and US tour productions of the stage musical. * Linda Olsson, in the Swedish production of the stage musical. *
Verity Hunt-Ballard Verity Hunt-Ballard is an Australian actress and singer, best known for roles in musical theatre. Hunt-Ballard was born in Mt Gambier, South Australia and raised in Largs Bay. Her Northern Ireland-born father was a social worker and music ther ...
in the Australian production of the stage musical. *
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(as Julie Andrews), in '' Saving Mr. Banks''. * Zizi Strallen, in the UK tour production of the stage musical and the 2019 West End revival in London. * Emily Blunt, in '' Mary Poppins Returns''.


Voice

*
Tatyana Voronina Tatyana Viktorovna Voronina (russian: link=no, Татьяна Викторовна Воронина; born March 5, 1959, Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian, pianist, singer and composer. She became known for her sad song about t ...
(singing), in the Soviet film Mary Poppins, Goodbye. * Juliet Stevenson, in the BBC Radio adaptation of the novel.


Parodies

* Anne Hathaway, (in tribute to Julie Andrews), in a short parody sketch at season 34, episode 4 of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...
'' in 2008. * Kristen Bell in a 2013 Funny or Die parody video, entitle
''Mary Poppins Quits''


Additions

Neil Gaiman's short story "The Problem of Susan" mentions a work published after Travers's death, ''Mary Poppins Brings in the Dawn'', in which Mary Poppins was
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's nanny. Mary Poppins appears in Alan Moore's third '' League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' graphic novel, '' Black Dossier'', when it returns to Margaret Cavendish's '' Blazing World''. She later reappears in ''Century: 2009'' and defeats the Antichrist created by Oliver Haddo. In this appearance, she and other characters hint that she may be a personification of God. In a sequence celebrating
British children's literature British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, a group of over thirty Mary Poppinses with umbrellas descended en masse to fight and defeat the nightmares (the villains
Queen of Hearts The queen of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. Queen of Hearts or The Queen of Hearts may refer to: Books * "The Queen of Hearts" (poem), anonymous nursery rhyme published 1782 * ''The Queen of Hearts'', an 1859 novel by ...
, Captain Hook,
Cruella de Vil Cruella de Vil is a fictional character in British author Dodie Smith's 1956 novel ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians''. A pampered and glamorous London heiress and fashion designer, she appears in Walt Disney Productions' 17th animated feature fi ...
, and Lord Voldemort) haunting children's dreams. The sequence is called " Second to the right and straight on till morning". Terry Pratchett's Susan Sto Helit character parodies Mary Poppins in various ways, most explicitly in the novel '' Hogfather''. In ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'' season 8 episode "
Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", also known as "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpialad'ohcious" is the thirteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', that originally aired on the Fo ...
", Marge hires a new housekeeper for the family named Shary Bobbins (voiced by Maggie Roswell), who, though she attempts to help the Simpsons become better people, is ultimately driven to alcoholism. In '' Family Guy'' season 6 episode "Padre de Familia", in a cutaway gag Peter dressed up as Mary Poppins he arrives to take care to Michael and Jane but only ends up killing them. Andy Weir's '' Cheshire Crossing'' depicts Miss Mary Poppins in 1910, prior to her employment to the Banks family, as she works as a tutor for Dr. Ernest Rutherford of Cheshire Crossing and is put in charge of Alice Liddell and Wendy Darling alongside her former student Dorothy Gale. Upon travelling to the land of Oz, Poppins is identified as a witch by the Wicked Witch of the West and melted with a bucket of water, before being reformed by Rutherford with a teaspoon of table sugar. In the 2017 physical graphic novel version of ''Cheshire Crossing'', Poppins is renamed Gwendolyn Poole due to restrictions from P. L. Travers' estate, although she retains the Poppins name in the Tapas webcomic version. In the audio play adaptation, Poppins (as Poole) is voiced by
Rebecca Soler Rebecca Soler is an American voice actress based in the New York City area. She has voiced on several audiobooks; her most notable voice work has been the narrator for ''The Lunar Chronicles'' series by Marissa Meyer. In anime, she voiced titl ...
. Natalie Schafer (as
Lovey Howell Lovey Howell (née Wentworth), is a fictional character from the 1964 television show ''Gilligan's Island'' played by Natalie Schafer. The character is a rich socialite married to millionaire businessman Thurston Howell III. Character summary W ...
) plays a Mary Poppins-like character named Mary Poppedin in a dream sequence of the '' Gilligan's Island'' episode "And Then There Were None". In ''
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ' ...
'', Peter Quill/Star Lord compares Yondu to Mary Poppins at the climax, leading to him (who does not know the character) proudly proclaiming "I'm Mary Poppins, y'all!" as he saves Star-Lord from dying in the vacuum of space. In '' The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part'', a character named Larry Poppins (voiced by
Jorma Taccone Jorma Christopher Taccone (; born March 19, 1977) is an American comedian, director, actor, and writer. He is one-third of the sketch comedy troupe The Lonely Island, with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer. In 2010, Taccone co-wr ...
) is Mary Poppins' male counterpart. Due to the phenomenal success of the
1964 film The year 1964 in film involved some significant events, including three highly successful musical films, ''Mary Poppins,'' ''My Fair Lady,'' and ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.'' Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1964 released films by box of ...
, Mary Poppins makes regular appearances at all the
Disney Parks and Resorts Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on Apri ...
. She is always accompanied by Bert and is located in the Main Street, U.S.A. area of the parks. Mary Poppins and the Pearly band also perform.


References


External links


Mary Poppins fictitious character
at WorldCat {{DEFAULTSORT:Poppins, Mary Fictional governesses Fictional nannies Fictional people from London Literary characters introduced in 1934 Fictional characters who use magic Mary Poppins Characters in British novels of the 20th century Female characters in literature Female characters in film Female characters in musical theatre Fictional female domestic workers