Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Please get over the hangup with this as a direct sequel. Just set it aside and watch it as is. Mary Poppins Returns is a lovely film. Soft on it's feet, light as a feather and bound to leave you all warm and fuzzy. Sure, it follows the same beats as the original, and maybe not with the same amount of originality and mind-blowing inspiration, but seriously, how many films can? If anything, Mary Poppins Returns is a less of a sequel and more of a tribute to what made the original so wonderful and enduring of the ages. The song and dance numbers are fabulous here. Emily Blunt is worthy of filling Julie Andrew's shoes as our one and only, umbrella twirling protagonist. By her side, and bringing forth a really impressive performance is Lin-Manuel Miranda as Jack. He's paying tribute to Dick Van Dyke for sure, but he makes it all his own, and for one of the few onscreen performances he's gotten, he pours his heart out and that effort really shows. My favorite sequence, of course, was the hand-drawn portion in the ceramic bowl. Obviously, out of obligation to honor the sequences from the first film, but ask me again why we don't get more of these? Why can't we have nice things, Disney? Four out of Five Stars