It’s now been a few months since Mary Poppins Returns hit theaters, and my family is no less obsessed with the film than we were the multiple times we saw it in the theater and listened to the soundtrack on repeat. The movie is now out on DVD, BluRay, 4K Ultra HD BluRay, and digital streaming formats, so we had a bit of a Mary Poppins Returns kind of day to celebrate! PLUS, check out the Easter eggs and hidden tributes!
Mary Poppins Returns Easter eggs and Special Nods to P. L. Travers’ Books
I’m assuming if you watched Mary Poppins Returns even once, you’ll have noticed some of the obvious nods to the original film. After all, how could you miss Mr. Dawes, Admiral Boom, and the parrot umbrella?
In many interviews I heard about Mary Poppins Returns, it was very clear that the second installment of the Mary Poppins films was based heavily on P. L. Travers’ original books. The creative team actually met many times per week – for a period of months – going through the stories.
The Other Side of the Moon
In one of the adventures Mary Poppins took with the Banks’ children, they discovered that lost things are found on the other side of the moon. People who have seen Mary Poppins Returns will hopefully recall the similar imagery in Mary’s song for the children, “Where Lost Things Go.”
John and Annabelle
In the novels, Jane and Michael Banks have a few siblings we never meet in the movies. Two of them are named John and Annabelle, providing great options for two of Michael Banks’ children in Mary Poppins Returns. I suppose their third sibling, Barbara, will just have to make an appearance in the next one… 🙂
Votes for Women
If you watched closely, you probably noticed that the tale of the problematic kite in Mary Poppins Returns was made from Winifred Banks’ “Votes for Women” sash, featured in the original Mary Poppins film.
Peter Ellenshaw Originals
The original Mary Poppins movie featured beautiful landscape paintings by artist Peter Ellenshaw. Some of the concept art from the first movie, also created by Ellenshaw, was used for much of the opening credits of Mary Poppins Returns.
The Covers Are Not Sort of the Book…
Many references can be made to P. L. Travers’ book titles, chapter titles, and characters throughout the “The Cover is Not the Book” scene.
Feed the Birds
As Jack rides by St. Paul’s Cathedral (the original site of the bird woman in Mary Poppins), lots of pigeons take flight – showing the steps probably haven’t changed all that much.
Musical Homages
Songwriter Marc Shaiman paid homage to the Sherman Brothers’ original Mary Poppins soundtrack several times throughout this film’s score. The chord progression from the end of the original are used when Emily Blunt’s Mary Poppins leaves. The melody of Jane and Michael’s “The Perfect Nanny” and of “A Spoonful of Sugar” are found inside other parts of the Mary Poppins Returns score.
Watch – and listen! – closely the next time you watch, now that you can look for these Easter eggs on Mary Poppins Returns over and over at home!
Mary Poppins Returns Special Features
We’ve spent some of the afternoon checking out the bonus features on the home release of Mary Poppins Returns. Some of our favorites were definitely the “Seeing Things From a Different Point of View” looks at the songs of the film, as well as short documentary style clips called “The Practically Perfect Making of ‘Mary Poppins Returns‘”… but the one that is, hands-down, the most likely to make you cry, is “Back to Cherry Tree Lane: Dick Van Dyke Returns”. For real, it’s absolutely beautiful.
You’ll also find:
- “The Anthropomorphic Zoo” – a deleted song from the production of Mary Poppins Returns
- Practically Perfect Bloopers
- Deleted Scenes
- … and additional versions of the movie including “Sing-a-Long Mode” and one with audio commentary from the cast and crew
Celebrate Mary Poppins Returns with a Tea Party or Family Movie Night
We’ve already shared our original Mary Poppins family movie night, which (despite being a very old post!) still has some fun options for a Cherry Tree Lane themed party or family date.
Today, we hosted a Mary Poppins Returns tea party with friends and family to celebrate the release. Walt Disney Studios graciously invited us to play at a local pottery place, and provided DVD/BluRay combos for each family. We had a great time talking about our favorite parts of the film, listening to the kids sing their favorite songs from the soundtrack, and putting our imaginations to use – just like Mary would want!
Activities for a Mary Poppins Returns Movie Night
- Decorate/create your own kite
- Have a soundtrack dance party or sing-a-long (I love this double-feature soundtrack, with songs from both Mary Poppins films!)
- Paint with bubbles – or play with this awesome bubble foam
- print some coloring pages, lamplight silhouette activities, a kite kit, and more, from this printable activity kit
- decorate kite cookies
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