Not in the best of moods? Put on a Disney movie. Having a bad day? Put on a Disney movie. Need a pick-me-up? I think you already know my answer.
With so many new films coming out each and every year, I have to say that nothing beats the real classics, whether animated or not. Plus, each one of them is filled with secrets that make them worth watching over and over again!
One of my personal favorites that I grew up with is Mary Poppins. It's hard not to fall in love with the cheery music, talented actors, and story line that is bound to leave you in happy tears (at least for me, anyway).
Just three years ago, the drama film Saving Mr. Banks was released. It bubbled up many unknown facts about the making of the film, like how it took Walt Disney 20 years to get the rights to the book.
However, there are still some lesser-known facts that might surprise you about the classic 1964 version — and we're here to fill you in with 11 truths below.
Did we leave out any good behind-the-scenes tidbits? Let us know in the comments below, and please SHARE with your family and friends on Facebook!
Thumbnail Sources: YouTube / DisneyMusicVIVO, Wikipedia / John Paul Wild
1. “A Spoonful Of Sugar” Was Inspired By The Polio Vaccine
You read that right: One the most popular tunes in the film actually stemmed from a vaccine.
When songwriter Robert Sherman came home from work one day, he learned that his kids had received a vaccination for polio — not in the form of a shot, but actually in a sugar cube. And thus the song was born!
2. Julie Andrews Was Not The First To Be Considered For Mary Poppins
Although it's hard to imagine anyone else playing the part, Andrews was far from being the only one looked at for the role. Before Andrews, Walt Disney seriously thought about making Angela Lansbury, Mary Martin or Bette Davis the nanny we have grown to adore.
3. Andrews Was First Discovered In "Camelot"
It was her role in Camelot that got Andrews noticed by Robert Sherman. During a performance of the musical on The Ed Sullivan Show, Andrews caught Sherman's attention, and from that point on, he pushed for her to be the leading role — I guess it worked!
4. Andrews' Ring Controlled The Robin During “A Spoonful Of Sugar”
While Mary Poppins is singing the catchy song, there is a part during the scene where a robin flies in and lands on her hand. But the magic behind the bird was the ring on her finger, which was connected to cables going up her arm.
Not too far away, a team was controlling the robin's every movement through the piece of jewelry.
5. David Tomlinson Did The Voice Of The Parrot-Head Umbrella
Although it was very hard to tell, the voice of Mary's talking umbrella belonged to another character in the movie — Mr. Banks! Yes, it's true that David Tomlinson had more than one “role” in the movie, and the two couldn't be any more different.
6. Matthew Garber And Karen Dotrice Had Worked With Each Other Before (Twice!)
This wasn't the Banks siblings' first rodeo when it came to working with each other on set. As a matter of fact, they had co-starred in two films together prior to this: The Three Lives of Thomasina and The Gnome-Mobile. No wonder they worked so well with each other!
7. It Was Walt Disney Studios' Highest Grossing Film
In 1964, Mary Poppins beat all of its competition and came out on top as the highest grossing film of the year. But the claim to fame didn't stop there: at the time, the film was also the highest grossing production ever created by Walt Disney Studios.
8. Dick Van Dyke Had No Experience When It Came To Dancing
The man might have put on a good front in the movie, but the reality was that Van Dyke had never put on his dancing shoes before the role of Bert fell into his lap. I guess that made him a natural!
9. It Took Two Weeks To Craft “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”
Richard Sherman claimed that it took him and his brother two weeks to come up with this now-famous catchphrase — but due to the complexity of the word, that doesn't really surprise me. Apparently, it stemmed from a silly word the songwriting brothers created when they were just kids.
10. Garber Was Paid Extra Money For Rooftop Scenes
Garber had an extreme fear of heights, but the producers needed him to do some of the scenes on the roof with Bert, according to Diply. So they bribed him with an extra 10 cents every time he had to make the climb.
11. “Step In Time” Required Plenty Of Practice
This fun and upbeat dance took Dick Van Dyke and the other chimney-sweeping actors a good chunk of time to learn: six weeks, to be exact. The routine was originally supposed to last a total of nine minutes. But when Walt Disney found out the producers made the decision to cut the dance down to two minutes, he bumped it up to 14.
Did we leave out any other lesser-known facts that every fan of the movie should know? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to SHARE with your friends and family on Facebook!
