Home » 5 Reasons we’re excited for Saving Mr Banks

It’s not a Bank Holiday in the UK without one TV channel showing Mary Poppins. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Christmas, Easter or summer, you’ll be sure to find Julie Andrews singing from your TV.

Disney released the film back in 1964 and now they’re bringing the story behind the film to the screen some 60 years later. Saving Mr Banks focuses on Walt Disney’s 20-year campaign to secure the rights to the book from author PL Travers. It’s a film that has Oscar potential written all over it and here’s why we’re excited to see it on the big screen.

1. Emma Thompson

One of our best actresses who really doesn’t make enough films, she says it’s because she’s now reached ‘that age’ but for an actress as consistently brilliant as Thompson age really shouldn’t matter. As the feisty and domineering PL Travers you just know she’s going to shine. Could this be her third Oscar win?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU2KPE7ajkc

2. Tom Hanks as Walt Disney

A Hollywood icon playing, arguably, THE Hollywood icon; you couldn’t have cast it better really. Hanks is always reliable, likeable and plays extremely well with audiences and we know he’s usually quite good in films with ‘Saving’ in the title. Playing Disney gives him a chance to pay homage to the golden age of Hollywood. At the world premiere he also revealed to us that he’s also a fan of Mary Poppins and that the chimney sweep scene blew his mind.

3. Bradley Whitford

Why is Bradley Whitford not in more films?? I know he made his name on TV (if you’ve never seen The West Wing I can only say watch it, NOW). In Saving Mr Banks he plays Don DaGradi, the co-writer of Poppins. He’s likely to spend most of his on-screen time with Thompson as Travers and Jason Schwartzman as Richard Sherman, Poppins’ song-writer and holds his own alongside Travers’ belligerence.

4. Oscar potential

Saving Mr Banks is aiming to be the third film in a row about filmmaking to win at the Academy Awards (following on from The Artist and Argo). It has Oscar-winning leads and director John Lee Hancock who directed Sandra Bullock to her Oscar win for The Blind Side plus it’s about a beloved Hollywood film made by a Hollywood icon, surely it’s the most Oscar-friendly of all this year’s possible nominees.

5. Kelly Marcel

After completing work on the film’s script, Marcel was hired to write the screenplay on the hugely anticipated 50 Shades of Grey.

Saving Mr Banks is in UK cinemas on November 29.

Jenny Priestley

I'm an entertainment writer and broadcaster with an obvious love of all things film and TV. And a slight obsession with the Lord Of The Rings, The West Wing and Steven Gerrard.

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