Product Details

• Actors: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns, Hermione Baddeley
• Directors: Robert Stevenson
• Writers: Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi, P.L. Travers
• Producers: Bill Walsh, Walt Disney
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Live, Special Edition, NTSC
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• VHS Release Date: March 31, 1998
• Run Time: 139 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (647 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0788812262
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,114 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There is only one word that comes close to accurately describing the enchanting Mary Poppins, and that term was coined by the movie itself: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Even at 2 hours and 20 minutes, Disney's pioneering mixture of live action and animation (based on the books by P.L. Travers) still holds kids spellbound. Julie Andrews won an Oscar as the world's most magically idealized nanny ("practically perfect in every way," and complete with lighter-than-air umbrella), and Dick Van Dyke is her clownishly charming beau, Bert the chimney sweep. The songs are also terrific, ranging from bright and cheery ("A Spoonful of Sugar") to dark and cheery (the Oscar-winning "Chim Chim Cher-ee") to touchingly melancholy ("Feed the Birds"). Many consider Mary Poppins to be the crowning achievement of Walt Disney's career--and it was the only one of his features to be nominated for a best picture Academy Award until Beauty and the Beast in 1991. --Jim Emerson

Review

"Disney's DVD of Mary Poppins will please just about everyone." -- DVD Savant/DVDTALK.COM

"This new, two-disc, 40th Anniversary Special Edition makes a fitting tribute to an enchanting film." -- John Puccio/DVDTown.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

195 of 210 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Now available in a 2-disc DVD edition! November 25, 2004

By Bruce Gray VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Mary Poppins may be =the= stand-out live-action movie that Disney has ever produced. Or will ever produce.

All the songs are very memorable. Who out there does not find themselves humming or even singing along with the likes of "Chim-Chim-Cheree" or "Spoonful of Sugar"?

Julie Andrews will always be remembered for her role as Mary Poppins, and Dick Van Dyke absolutely shines as Bert the Chimney Sweep. Van Dyke also plays the senior officer of the bank - and has his very best scene where he realizes that the punchline - "A wooden leg named Smith" - is funny. Andrews won an Academy Award for Mary Poppins, and the movie also won Best Visual Effects, and Best Music Score, as well as Best Song ("Chim Chim Cher-ee").

The scene where "I love to laugh" is particularly poignant. Ed Wynn died not long after the release of Mary Poppins, and shows some of his best comedy style in this scene. Very laughable.

The story is top-notch and has a wonderful moral without being too "preachy". It was a very good adaptation from the original novel, and it's a shame Disney never did any of P L Traver's own sequels to Mary Poppins.

The animated bits are a little flat by today's standards, but they add a wonderful whimsey to a stellar production. Highly recommended to any family with children. A must-buy for Disney fans.

This is the far better, two-disc, 40th anniversary edition that not only restores everything to digital quality, but adds a second disc of deleted scenes (and a song!), commentary, and many other cool new features. Look for the new 40th anniversary DVD edition - it's worth waiting for!

It's just supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

296 of 325 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Movie, Unnecessary DVD June 11, 2009

By Don Vito Corleone

Format:DVD

Mary Poppins is one of my all-time favorites. Is fantastic film that is perfect in every way. the actors are excellent, the animation superb and the songs are unique. five years ago, Disney released a 40th Anniversary Edition DVD with 2 discs. It was one of the best DVDs editions that Disney had released with everything that we need to know about the movie besides the fantastic restoration of the film.

This January, Disney released a 45th Anniversary Edition. While some people like me will think that was too soon for another re-release, Disney as usual, wants to gain more profits. This new DVD has the same picture and sound than the original. Nothing is shinier, crispier or anything. Is exactly the same. Disc one holds the same bonus material as the 40th Ann. Ed. Disc Two presents us Disney on Broadway, a bunch of featurettes that shows us the new Mary Poppins musical. This is completely a waste. We are concern about the movie itself not the musical so this is unnecessary. The other bonus materials are the same that the ones in the 40 Ann Ed. But, in order to put this Broadway featurerette, Disney dropped some good material about the movie that are encountered on the previous DVD. This material is: a game (not such a loss), the deconstruction of a scene featurette that was fun but most important of all, the Party where it shows the party after the preimiere of the film in 1964. What a shame that they dropped this extras to put things that have nothing to do with the film. So this is a very unnecessary DVD so my suggestion is don't buy it, and if you haven't bought Mary Poppins on DVD yet, buy the 40th Anniversary Edition which is still available and is the same price of this new Edition.

117 of 126 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Disney's Live Masterpiece Shines More Brightly than Ever! December 6, 2004

By Benjamin J Burgraff VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

"Mary Poppins" is one of that select group of films that can truly be called 'Classic', a project conceived in love and filled with so much child-like wonder that it will never grow old or 'out-of-date'. Certainly the crowning achievement of Walt Disney's remarkable career, the "Mary Poppins" 40th Anniversary Special Edition is simply magnificent!

Based on P.L. Travers' tales of a magical nanny who arrives to bring families closer, the rights to the stories had been pursued by Disney since 1938, but Travers had seen what studios had done to other authors' works, and withheld her approval unless she could maintain some creative control. Years of negotiations only whetted Disney's desire to make a definitive, truly 'special' film, and by 1960, despite the box office failure of another fantasy-themed 'pet' project, "Darby O'Gill and the Little People", he was more confident than ever in the story's potential, bringing together a remarkable array of talent, including songwriting brothers Richard and Robert Sherman, production head Bill Walsh, and the brilliant artist Peter Ellenshaw to 'visualize' 1910 London through his matte paintings.

With Travers' grudging approval, casting began. While American stage and TV star Dick Van Dyke was an odd choice to play a Cockney chimneysweep, he was a gifted mime and physical comedian, and had such a wholesome exuberance that Disney knew British audiences would forgive his shaky accent. Popular British actors Glynis Johns and David Tomlinson would play the preoccupied parents, with Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber (from "The Three Lives of Thomasina") as the neglected children.... Veteran stars Ed Wynn, Elsa Lanchester, Reginald Owen, Arthur Treacher, and Jane Darwell (as the Bird Woman, in her last screen appearance), headed the strong supporting cast.

But it was the casting of Julie Andrews, in her first film, as Mary Poppins, that truly 'made' the film! Passed over by Jack Warner for the movie version of her stage hit, "My Fair Lady" (he opted for Audrey Hepburn), Disney caught her performance in "Camelot" on Broadway, knew, instantly, that she was the right 'Mary', and approached her for the role. "But I'm pregnant," she told him. "No problem," he replied. "I'll wait!"

And thus a Classic was born!

A multiple 1964 Oscar winner (including 'Best Actress' for Andrews, who got to share the stage with her "Lady" costar, Rex Harrison, who won 'Best Actor'), the film was a major hit, worldwide, and quickly achieved the legendary status it holds today.

For it's 40th Anniversary, Disney's heirs have put together a spectacular package; along with the digitally-remastered film (it looks and sounds SUPERB!), a second disc of additional features includes a joyous reunion of stars Andrews and Van Dyke (who both seem ageless!); reminiscences of Robert Sherman, who sings a cute ditty cut from the final film; a fascinating 50-minute "behind-the-scenes" documentary about the production; featurettes on how the FX were achieved in several key scenes; and much, MUCH more! As the owner of several "Special Edition" Disney DVDs, I can honestly say, THIS is the BEST, yet!

With the holidays fast approaching, I can't think of a finer gift to give, or to get! Read more ›