I posted an entry to this blog week or so ago acknowledging the passing away of Disney legendary classic songwriter Robert Sherman (link). Along with his more visible in Disney circles brother Robert, the two songwriters crafted the music for Mary Poppins. The music of Mary Poppins is not exactly my cup of tea but its undeniable that the music of that movie is memorable and first rate.
I also went on to write that the movie Mary Poppins kind of gave me the creeps. I caught a little flack for that from a couple of readers of this blog but let me explain. I saw Mary Poppins in an actual movie theater as an impressionable young boy. The immediate impression was it gave me nightmares. For a young boy, there is something unsettling about seeing a nice lady flying around on an umbrella. I saw it my dreams. I don't remember dreams very well. Here we are decades later and I still remember that one.
But I also confess, that I had the same reaction to the Wizard of Oz and the garish display of flying monkeys. It too gave me nightmares probably worse than the Mary Poppins nightmares. I didn't see the Wizard of Oz in a theater. I'm not that old. When I was a kid, before the days of cable and satellite TV, some network annually broadcast The Wizard of Oz on television. Apparently it was "must see TV" for the time. I did see The Wizard of Oz on TV - once - it gave me the creeps, gave me nightmares - that was it. I never watched it again.
Did I have something against people or animals flying? I don't think so. As a kid, I religiously watched The Adventures of Superman on TV and I was good with that. There was just something about a woman with dress and an umbrella and hideous flying monkeys that would wake me up in fear in the dead of night.
I can't understand why Mary Poppins (and Bert) are paraded around Disneyland the way they are. Walk around characters are primarily aimed at kids, probably of the under age 7 demographic. I wonder how many kids under the age of 7 have actually seen the movie Mary Poppins? And if they did see it, how many did it actually creep out? Then again, it could be just me.
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