I had mixed reactions to the film, possibly because I know a lot of the history it covers.
The good elements:
- The size of the roles given to the two Sherman Brothers characters. They are a massive part of Disney history and have historically have been woefully underappreciated. It was a joy to see their legacy brought to life.
- Emma Thompson's execution of Travers.
- The effective but not overdone "Mad Men" era setting. The art direction in this was just spot on.
The less than good:
- The overdone flashback Australia storyline. That element could have easily been cut back in length by two thirds and been just as effective. As executed, it became repetitive and fatiguing.
- The blatant steam cleaning of what actually ended up happening between Travers and Disney. In the film, we are shown Disney flying to Britain to have an 11th hour heart-to heart resolution with Travers.
That event never happened.
The real story is while she was still in Burbank, Walt got her to sign a contract giving her full right of refusal on the script, while knowing the fine print in the contract gave her no control over editing, which was his work around so he could insert elements into the final film (music, characterizations and animation) he knew she adamantly didn't want. She was shocked at the premiere (yes, crying, outraged over what had been done to her work) and ended up resenting her dealings with Disney for the rest of her life.
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She was not a very nice lady or a rationale one. During her time in Burbank she was removed from filming and work sessions because she was verbally attacking the cast member sand crew. She also kept coming up with silly requirements like *She did not want the color red in any of the movie......none!*
She had her own lawyers that had a hard time controlling her demands.
Her editing rights ended at the movie premier. She allegedly claimed she was not aware of that until Walt told her when she was talking about re editing the movie.
She was know at home as a hard to work with person and really a *curmudgeon*.
She has in her will that none of the works be produced by Disney, however it seems this as been gotten around by her estate owners.
AKK.