MARY POPPINS RETURNS Sneak Peak Features Lin-Manuel Miranda Singing
“Whenever I lose my way, I just look up.”
Disney has released a new featurette for their fantastic-looking new film Marry Poppins Returns. If you’re a fan of Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda, then this trailer gives you a little taste of one of the songs that he sings in the film as the lamplighter named Jack.
When talking about his character in an interview with /film, Miranda offered the following details:
“[Jack] apprenticed under Burt from the original film, so he knows all about Mary. He knows that Mary shows up and stuff’s going to happen and cool adventures will be had. So it’s really nice to play the Burt position in this film. You kind of get to go on all the fun adventures with the Banks family…
I just picture a little mini-Burt running around after him. And he sort of grows up and doesn’t lose that spark. I think what Burt and Jack share is that they don’t lose the imagination that comes with childhood. I think that’s one of the themes, too, that grownups forget. Grownups forget imbuing the world with imagination at every turn. And what sets Burt apart and Jack apart is that they don’t…he remembers Mary Poppins and he remembers everything she’s capable of. She’s not just a nanny in his head. She is a bringer of wonder. That’s what they should [remember].”
This is a perfect role for Mianda to take on. Hell, everyone that has been cast in the film are perfect for the roles they play, especially Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins.
The film is set in 1930s depression-era London (the time period of the original novels) and is drawn from the wealth of material in PL Travers’ additional seven books. In the story, Michael (Ben Whishaw) and Jane (Emily Mortimer) are now grown up, with Michael, his three children and their housekeeper, Ellen (Julie Walters), living on Cherry Tree Lane. After Michael suffers a personal loss, the enigmatic nanny Mary Poppins (Blunt) re-enters the lives of the Banks family, and, along with the optimistic street lamplighter Jack (Miranda), uses her unique magical skills to help the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives. Mary Poppins also introduces the children to a new assortment of colorful and whimsical characters, including her eccentric cousin, Topsy (Meryl Streep).
The movie also stars Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury as the Balloon Lady, a treasured character from the PL Travers books and Dick Van Dyke plays Mr. Dawes, Jr., the retired chairman of the bank now run by Firth’s character.
Mary Poppins Returns is slated for release December 25, 2018.