BEHIND THE SCENES: Saving Mr. Banks Exhibit at Disney Studios and Archives

One of the many neat things I got to do while I was on my fabulous L.A. trip last month was tour the exhibit the Disney Studios had set up for Saving Mr. Banks. It featured behind the scenes photographs from the making of Mary Poppins, as well as artifacts from the film including set pieces and set dressing, along with several of the actual items from Walt Disney's office that are now housed safely in the archives. Seeing reproductions of Disney's awards, degrees, and items in his office, I felt the need to take it all in photographically, and I went a little snap-happy. Here are a few of my favorites:

The actual chair and globe from Walt's office.

A photo of "Walt" with the Mickey Mouse Club cast. Hanks' head was
photoshopped onto Disney's body in this iconic image for the film.

The Sherman Brothers with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke on set.

Rather than load this post down with all 89 photos (yes, you read that right. And those were just the ones that were mostly in focus... I took more than that), I whipped you up another nifty slideshow. Take a stroll with me through all the neat things from Saving Mr. Banks, including photos that had Tom Hanks' head photoshopped in where Walt Disney's was to make the backgrounds in the film authentic.


Saving Mr. Banks Exhibit and Archives by Slidely Slideshow

There are also photos towards the end of our visit to the Walt Disney Archives, where we were treated to the actual recordings of P.L. Travers' meetings with the Sherman Brothers and filmmakers of Mary Poppins, as well as pictures of the actual awards on which the set dressing was based and costumes from the Saving Mr. Banks film. I recorded audio of the presentation, however we were not permitted to record the actual recordings (for obvious reasons), so I had to do it in three separate increments. You can listen to the presentation and the questions we asked of the archivist who gave it in the nifty little player below.


Now, for those of you who don't already know, I was a History teacher before I had TV Boy, so I was fascinated by all of this history. The fact that I was exhausted and my feet hurt (do NOT wear heels to walk around Hollywood, people!) didn't even register as I soaked up all of this information and the tour like a little geeky sponge. Did you know that Walt Disney had TWO offices, one for formal meetings and one for actually working? (Shout-out to my friend David at DadAllDay.net with that little factoid, wink wink! He'll know what I mean.) I'm so happy I finally get to share it with everyone! Disclosure: I received a trip to Los Angeles in exchange for coverage of Saving Mr. Banks being released on Blu-ray. Please see my Disclosure tab for more information. 

REVIEW: Saving Mr. Banks on Blu-ray plus GIVEAWAY!

For all of you who are fans of Mary Poppins or anyone who is a "Dizgeek" or history buff, Saving Mr. Banks is a must-see film. For those who haven't yet seen it, travel back in time to Walt Disney Studios, where Walt (played by Tom Hanks) is determined to get the production rights to P.L. Travers' (played by Emma Thompson) story of Mary Poppins.

Hanks and Thompson as Disney and Travers. Image © Disney

Mrs. Travers is none too persuaded to let go of her precious characters so easily, and the addition of songs written by the Sherman Brothers (played by BJ Novak and Jason Schwartzman) and animation has her ready to board a plane back to England.

Novak and Schwartzman as the Sherman Brothers. Image © Disney

Throughout the film, we are treated to an inside look at the life of P.L. Travers, and her attachment to her father, Travers Goff (played by Colin Farrell), who has a tragic alcohol addiction that is gradually killing him, and on whom her character of Mr. Banks is based.

Annie Rose Buckley as Ginty and Colin Farrell as Travers Goff. Image © Disney.

Mrs. Travers (who, after her father's death, drops her moniker "Ginty" and takes his first name as her surname) isn't keen on their portrayal of Mr. Banks as well as Mary Poppins herself being so lighthearted and charming. She insists on having all discussions about the film recorded--which, interestingly enough, I had the chance to listen to some of her original recordings while on my trip to L.A. back in February! More on that later this week!

Tom Hanks as Walt Disney. Image © Disney.

Tom Hanks' portrayal of Walt Disney was flawless. Watching him, you really feel the weight of Disney's commitment to his films as well as his jovial personality. The attention to detail with the film is outstanding.

Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers. Image © Disney.

I also loved Emma Thompson as Pamela Travers. If anyone could play a haughty British woman, it's Emma Thompson! She manages to strike the perfect balance between pointed disgust with Disney's antics and nostalgic sadness as she remembers her childhood. Speaking of sadness, ladies make sure you have tissues at the ready! Many of my blogger friends and I discussed it as being one of those "ugly cry" movies. It's heartbreaking, and to get the audience to feel so deeply for someone as cold as P.L. Travers is portrayed is a triumph.

Behind the scenes on set. Image © Disney.

The special features included on the Blu-ray, while minimal, are also a little tear-jerking, but that could just be because I got to tour the very same studio lot that on which the film was made. That, and I'm a huge sap. The featurette "The Walt Disney Studios: From Poppins To The Present" takes viewers on a bit of the same tour, showing off the animator offices Disney designed himself to make sure they had the proper light, as well as several points of interest on the lot. It is led by Director John Lee Hancock and features a special appearance by Richard Sherman himself. There is also a fun short video of Mr. Sherman leading the cast and crew in a rousing rendition of "Let's Go Fly A Kite" on their final day of filming. The film is rated PG-13 and is available for purchase tomorrow on March 18th.

Image © Disney Home Entertainment

As a special treat, I've put together a little slideshow of my photos from the awesome D23 tour of the studios, featuring some of the places used in Saving Mr. Banks, as well as many of the locations discussed in the bonus featurette on the Blu-ray, led by our awesome tour guide and D23 Marketing Manager Jeffrey Epstein, seen in the second pic (thanks Jeffrey!). And, of course, I set it to "Let's Go Fly A Kite"!


Disney Studios Tour Feb 2014 by Slidely Slideshow
Finally, to close out my post, my friends at Disney Home Entertainment are providing a copy of Saving Mr. Banks on Blu-ray to give away to one of my lucky readers! Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter and be sure to check out the linky at the bottom for more chances to win from other bloggers on the trip! The contest will run until this Friday, March 21, at midnight. Please see the Giveaway T&C tab for more information.


a Rafflecopter giveaway




UPDATE: My friends at Disney just sent over these fun Saving Mr. Banks-inspired recipes! Enjoy!



Disclosure: I was provided a copy of the Blu-ray for review purposes, as well as a trip to L.A. to cover the release and relevant displays. Please see my Disclosure tab for more information.