Memorable music, colorful characters, wonder and whimsy all made Disney's 1964 film Mary Poppins a groundbreaking classic and a pillar of the studio's catalog. For the sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, Disney is looking to deliver an instant classic with new songs to sing a long to. To that end, Disney has released a new video for the film that shows Lin-Manuel Miranda singing his heart out. Take a look.
You don't bring in Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame without giving him a huge number to showcase his musical talents. And this video shows there is nothing to worry about on that end. Lin-Manuel Miranda didn't write the music for Mary Poppins Returns, but here we see his Jack the Lamplighter dancing and belting out the toe tapping "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" complete with a Cockney accent.
Jack the Lamplighter is a friend of Mary Poppins, and assists her when she returns to help the Banks family find joy again during a difficult time in their lives. Jack is an optimistic character and that comes through in the infectiously upbeat tune about shining brighter than the troubles that are getting you down. The dance number that seems to accompany it with all the lamplighters is also wondrous, and exactly what you would want to see from Lin-Manuel Miranda in this particular movie.
Music is the core of Mary Poppins, so the sequel has its work cut out for it to live up to that lofty precedent. We hadn't yet heard much of the new music from the film prior to this video, but this sample is encouraging that Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman can deliver another film full of iconic songs.
In addition to the great new music, this sneak peek at Mary Poppins Returns also gives us an even better look at the positively stunning visuals director Rob Marshall has in store for us. The colorful fantasy worlds created with both CGI and traditional 2D animation as in the first film are all gorgeous, assuring us the sequel is striving to match its predecessor in all respects.
Early buzz on the film is positive and Mary Poppins Returns is expected to be one of the two films that Disney really gives an Oscar push to next year, alongside Black Panther. The 1964 film was nominated for a whopping 13 Oscars, winning five, including Best Original Song and Best Music. Based on this video, it's looking like Mary Poppins will again be a force to be reckoned with come awards season, at least in the music categories.
Mary Poppins Returns helps the medicine go down when it opens in theaters on December 19th. Check out our Holiday Movie Guide for that film and all of the other sequels, blockbusters and awards contenders you can look forward to this holiday season.
