Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

If "Saving Mr. Banks" changed the way that you look at "Mary Poppins," not only chronicling the contentious process of adapting P. L. Travers character for the screen, but exposing the deep-rooted motivations why she wrote them in the first place, "Mary Poppins Returns" wants to change it back.

Rob Marshall, one of Hollywood's most commercially successful purveyors of movie musicals, attempts to bring back the escapist magic of the original film, and with the help of award-winning composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, he very nearly pulls it off. Mileage may vary on how deeply its story resonates about the beleaguered next generation of Banks children, but buoyant songs and terrific performances from the likes of Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Ben Whishaw make for an anachronistic, enchanting homage/follow up to the 1964 original.