During my recent trip to the Walt Disney Studios, I was invited on a self guided tour of the Walt Disney Archives and treated to an up-close look at the Saving Mr. Banks exhibit! The film shows the lengths Walt went to in order to bring Pamela Traveler’s story of Mary Poppins to life onscreen. For more on this, read Melissa’s review of Saving Mr. Banks.
During the tour there was so much memorabilia to look at and information to take in, it would be impossible to tell you everything. So I will share some of my favorite things!
Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers in Saving Mr. Banks
This exhibit contained many of the actual artifacts from Walt Disney’s office. In the frame above, from Saving Mr. Banks, you can see the individual figurines and the souvenirs Walt kept on his shelf behind his desk. Seeing this collection in person was amazing! Here is the recreation of Walt’s office-I stood right in front of many of the props used in the making of Saving Mr. Banks. The attention to detail was meticulous!
The exhibit included much memorabilia-original merchandise from when the film first opened in 1964. I really enjoyed looking at the beautiful prints and drawn storyboards. There were many amazing, well preserved historical photos and displays of Disney’s rich past.
We were able to sit down and listen to some of the actual audio recordings of meetings between Pamela Travers, the Sherman Brothers and Don Gadradi, Screenwriter for Mary Poppins. Robert and Richard Sherman were the musical team behind some of the most beloved Mary Poppin’s songs.
The Sherman brothers
I loved listening to the recordings of the interaction between the filmmakers and Ms. Travers. She was quite reserved and stoic. She fought to protect the story that she loved, wanting to remain loyal to the characters and tale that she created. Walt and Travers had many differences of opinions, she wanted full control and Walt fought to turn it into his vision of a Disney movie.
We listened to a song called, “Mary Poppin’s Medley” that was to replace the much loved “A Spoon Full of Sugar.” Unfortunately, recording the song was not allowed. Travers disagreed with many other details of the film, including the use of animation. She did not feel it had a place in the film, yet animated butterflies, woodland creatures and even penguins make an appearance.
On August, 27th, 1964 Mary Poppins was released. The film went on to be nominated for a total of 13 academy awards and won five. P.L. Travers let Walt Disney know that she did not prefer the finished film at the Hollywood premier. However, she did end up attending the premiers in New York and England. Travers later wrote a letter apologizing for her words at the Hollywood premier and also said that upon watching the film a second time she enjoyed it a bit more. One thing I think everyone can agree on is that Walt knew filmmaking, and he succeeded in making P.L. Travers’ story into an entertaining, classic movie that the public will love for years to come.
Julie Andrews, Walt Disney and PL Travers, Hollywood premiere, 1964.
I would just like to thank the amazing Jeffery Epstein, Marketing Manager for D23 for the tour of the studio lot! Do you know what D23 is? Check out D23.com site! There you can read about D23, The Official Disney Fan Club! If you join, you will receive benefits and opportunities only afforded to lucky Disney fans!
To stay connected with the latest news & newest information about Saving Mr. Banks, follow on:
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/SavingMrBanks
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/DisneyPictures
- The Saving Mr. Banks Website: https://movies.disney.com/saving-mr-banks/
All opinion are honest and 100% my own. Disney provided an all-expense paid trip to cover the event.
This is truly amazing! I like the history and pictures behind Mary Poppins. What a wonderful movie, and Walt Disney was a genius at making this movie so spectacular. I loved watching Mary Poppins as a child and as an adult.
I would do anything to visit a Disney exhibit like this! I hope they make one for Sleeping Beauty when iti is rereleased on DVD in the fall. I wish that Disney had made a The ‘Making of Saving Mr. Banks” book with behind-the-scenes photos and stories.
Walt Disney was a amazing dreamer and businessman! His movies are such a important part of so may lives.
The back door access and behind the scenes information you got is so awesome. I always enjoy learning the story behind the story.
It’s amazing how much a part of everyone’s lives that Disney has become. Such a fascinating history!
so many cool things to discover at Disney!! love the memorabilia
I’ve heard that this movie is a bit of a tear-jerker and I’ve been wanting to see it. What a great opportunity to tour the archives!
This is nice! And can you imagine a childhood without the song, “A spoonful of sugar??” That would have been tragic. I still love that song, and I’m grown. 🙂
What a great experience. I have been to the Disney Museum in San Francisco and they have some pretty neat Walt stuff. Would love to see the Disney Archives.
What a neat exhibit! I’d love to visit. I’m a huge Disney fan and would love to see the history!
That looks like such a fun trip. What an amazing picture of Julie Andrews, Walt Disney, and PL Travers!
Being such a huge Mary Poppins fan I have got to see this movie. It looks like you guys had a great time.
This is so cool!! I’d love to see it in person!!
Lucky you! We want to see this movie – Hope to real soon. I grew up watching Mary Poppins – what a great family movie that was. Thanks for sharing all this information – how exciting!
I love Mary Poppins! So neat to learn some of the background of it–and I love the spoonful of sugar song! Sounds like you had a great time!
What an awesome experience. That man was such a machine.
This is really neat! I’ve always loved Disney and have been fascinated by their movies, characters and story lines. Looks like this was a memory not to be forgotten!
(Visiting the Disney Archives & the SAVING MR. BANKS Exhibit! #SavingMrBanksBloggers) After reading all the different blog site’s about the making of this movie. I am very surprised it really was ever finished and released. It sounded like that woman PL Travers was very difficult to work with. Walt must have nerves of steel to work with a person like her.
This looks like such a fun tour. I enjoy hearing about how movies came to be, and would love to visit this exhibit.
What a cool opportunity! Thanks for sharing it with us.