Saving Mr. Banks

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Saving Mr. Banks
Original title Saving Mr. Banks
Saving Mr. Banks Logo.svg
Country of production United States
United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 2013
length 125 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
JMK 10
Rod
Director John Lee Hancock
script Kelly Marcel
Sue Smith
production Alison Owen
Ian Collie
Philip Steuer
music Thomas Newman
camera John Schwartzman
cut Mark Livolsi
occupation

Saving Mr. Banks is a 2013 American - English biography by John Lee Hancock . The film describes the two-week negotiations for the film rights to Mary Poppins that Walt Disney had with the author P. L. Travers in 1961 in Hollywood .

The film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival 2013 on October 20 premiere . The German theatrical release was on March 6, 2014.

action

As early as 1940, Walt Disney had promised his daughters that the novel Mary Poppins would be made into a film . After 20 years of trying to get the film rights, the writer's agent finally persuades her to at least try because of the financial troubles she finds herself in. P. L. Travers reluctantly travels to Los Angeles in 1961 because she sees Walt Disney only as a producer of animated films that she detests. In her opinion, a film about Mary Poppins cannot contain any cartoon elements. Two weeks of hard work began with the screenwriter Don DaGradi and the composers Richard and Robert Sherman , in which she made the condition that everything was recorded on tape right from the start. Travers is always making new demands that it is hardly possible to meet. DaGradi, Richard and Robert Sherman become increasingly desperate, but Walt Disney's desire to keep the promise he made to his daughters keeps him giving in. Even the color red should no longer appear.

While working on the film, there are repeated flashbacks to P. L. Travers's childhood, from which it becomes increasingly clear how closely the story of Mary Poppins is interwoven with Travers' own childhood.

An important element of the film is the encounter with the driver Ralph, who was assigned to her for the duration of her stay. At first she can hardly bear his enthusiasm for Walt Disney's work and his friendliness and openness. But when she learns more about Ralph's life, a friendship develops that is reserved on her part.

After two weeks of hard work, in which many elements of the film are already being created, P. L. Travers decides to return to London and gives Walt Disney back the film rights contract that she always carried with her - not signed. Because she had learned that animation elements should be included in the film after all - an absolute absurdity.

Disney is puzzled when he finds on the hotel bill for her stay that the name P. L. Travers is a stage name , and researches the author's past. He notes that her name is Helen Goff and that she grew up in Australia rather than England. Her father's name is Travers Goff. Disney decides to go to London himself because he thinks he understands her better: He realizes that Mr. Banks, the father in the book Mary Poppins, is actually the author's father. A long and intensive conversation ensues, after which P. L. Travers finally signs the contract for the transfer of the film rights, without further influencing the content of the film.

The premiere of the film is announced in 1964. Many celebrities are invited - just not P. L. Travers. Walt Disney feared a scandal, because much of what the author had initially rejected now appears in the film. But she just gets on the plane and appears unannounced in the studios. You pretend the invitation has been lost and quickly find accommodation and a suitable place for the premiere. When she goes there, she is greeted by many of the cartoon characters from the Disney films, which initially puts her off, but then she lets Mickey Mouse lead her to the cinema.

During the premiere it becomes clear to her that the film preserves the fantasy world that her father gave her in her childhood and that it can also convey it to adults. The harshness that she showed towards other people and with which she tried to protect herself fades, and she says goodbye to the people she met in the first two weeks with a warmth of heart that she never experienced in her had.

In the end credits of the film, historical tape recordings are played in which P. L. Travers can be heard in negotiations with Don DaGradi and Richard and Robert Sherman.

background

  • Saving Mr. Banks is the first joint film project between the half-brothers John (camera) and Jason Schwartzman , who plays Richard Sherman in the film.
  • The film was shot entirely in and around Los Angeles . The locations include Disneyland in Anaheim , the TCL Chinese Theater (formerly Grauman's) in Hollywood , where Mary Poppins premiered in 1964 , the Disney Studios in Burbank (officially opened in 1940; this is where the entire 1964 film was made) and the 10,000 hectare Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, which was used to depict the Australian landscape of the early 20th century.
  • The film team was able to use the Walt Disney Family Museum, which opened in 2009 in the Presidio , San Francisco, for the preparatory work for the shooting .
  • The title Saving Mr. Banks refers to the discussions between Disney and Travers about how the story of Mr. Banks should develop in the film, since the author Mr. Banks - the character inspired by her father - would like to look good in the end, which Disney agrees with in the end and thus "saves" Mr. Banks.

reception

criticism

“The problem with the film is not so much the portrayal of Walt Disney's persona; he is not a biopic about the film pioneer and is therefore not obliged to live up to his whole life. But one problem with 'Saving Mr. Banks' is the seeming criticism of Disney's feel-good merchandising, which turns into an apology at the end , and the whispering tone with which sentences like' You mustn't impose life on yourself as a punishment 'to morally exaggerate an episode of film history in order to turn it into a dripping dream material. "

- Jan Wiele : Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

“In the Disney version, she (Mary Poppins) becomes lovelier, even really charming. Disney and his three colleagues are now pirouetting in front of Travers, whispering, singing, slipping one or the other cartoon character in a real film into her, giving in - and it's a pleasure to watch. Which is because Hanks and Thompson do a good job, fueled by all the little references to the movie musical that Disney actually had in 1964 with Julie Andrews, and, as the Disney-Mary would say, the supercalifragilistic explosive melodies, that pull through the film. "

- Susan Vahabzadeh : Süddeutsche Zeitung

"SAVING MR. BANKS would only be a sentimental journey to an open writer's secret if it weren't for the Emma Thompson event and, ultimately, Tom Hanks. His Walt Disney is predominantly dear daddy who opens his TV show every Sunday evening and (with MARY POPPINS) wants to keep a promise to his daughters. But he is also the tycoon who ultimately enforces all his goals against his "opponent". Emma Thompson with an incredibly pointed tongue and the strictest drapery on her forehead keeps the screen and teammates at bay with every appearance, without ever falling into a caricature of this unusual female figure. "

- Marli Feldvoss : epd film

Awards

The jury of the German Film and Media Assessment (FBW) gave the film the rating “particularly valuable”.

Nominations

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Release to Saving Mr. Banks . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , January 2014 (PDF; test number: 142 941 K).
  2. ↑ Age rating for Saving Mr. Banks . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ^ A b Clare Stewart: Saving Mr. Banks. British Film Institute, October 20, 2013, archived from the original on November 13, 2013 ; accessed on January 24, 2014 (English): "The true story of Mary Poppins' journey to the big screen is imaginatively brought to life, with terrific performances from an all-star cast."
  4. ^ Trivia at Internet Movie Database, accessed September 7, 2014.
  5. ↑ Jan Wiele: Manned Lady in Cliché California. In: Feuilleton. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, March 7, 2014, accessed June 30, 2014 .
  6. ↑ Susan Vahabzadeh: Getting Fit for Eternity. In: Culture. Süddeutsche Zeitung, March 10, 2014, accessed December 30, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Marli Feldvoss: Saving Mr. Banks. epd Film, February 19, 2014, accessed April 10, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Saving Mr. Banks. German film and media rating , February 10, 2014, accessed on February 10, 2014 : "Saving Mr. Banks receives rating particularly valuable"