Everything about Mary Poppins Character totally explained
Mary Poppins is a fictional character and the protagonist of
Pamela Travers'
Mary Poppins books and all of its adaptations. She is a magical nanny of unknown origins who arrives at the Banks home in Cherry Tree Lane where she's given charge of the Banks children and teaches them valuable lessons with a magical touch.
Description
Mary Poppins is a loving but slightly-stern nanny 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 is loving and kind towards the children, but can be firm when needed.
Actresses who have portrayed Mary Poppins
Book
Mary Poppins in
P.L. 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 scolds the children for their "bad" behaviour, especially when they point out the magical things that she does, for she constantly denies that she's 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.) who appears in the books, some of whom love her dearly and others of whom 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's the only human being who has retained the magical secrets that 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, others in strange realms that later writers might identify as magical
dimensions. In literary terms, she might be described as a character who exists in every conceivable
fantasy 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.
Movie
Mary Poppins in the
Disney film, as portrayed by
Julie Andrews, is also stern but is at the same time gentle and nurturing of the two Banks children of whom she's 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, and far more sympathetic towards the two children than the nanny in the original stories.
Songs Performed
A Spoonful of Sugar
Jolly Holiday
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Stay Awake
I Love to Laugh
Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag)
Chim Chim Cher-ee
Step in Time
Stage Musical
Mary Poppins in the both the West End and Broadway versions of the stage musical is more deliberately mysterious than the movie version. She is stricter with the children (who are also naughtier than their book and movie counterparts) but she only wants them to become the best that they can be. Mary in the stage version is also more aware of Bert's feelings towards her, but remains non-committal towards his affections.
Songs Performed
Practically Perfect
Jolly Holiday
A Spoonful of Sugar
Feed the Birds
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Chim Chim Cher-ee (Rooftop Duet)
Brimstone and Treacle Part 2
Practically Perfect (Reprise)
Step in Time
Anything Can Happen
A Spoonful of Sugar (Farewell Reprise)Further Information
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