2013 | PG-13 | Biography Drama

An account of Walt Disney's twenty-year pursuit of the film rights to P.L. Travers' popular novel, Mary Poppins, and the testy partnership the upbeat filmmaker develops with the uptight author during the project's pre-production in 1961. more

In Movie Theaters U.S.

Friday, December 20, 2013 Nationwide Nationwide Release
Friday, December 13, 2013 Limited Limited Release

On Blu-ray & DVD

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Released; Now Available Buy | Rent Now

Cast more cast

DIRECTOR

John Lee Hancock

Screenwriter

Kelly Marcel

Companies

Rating MPAA

PG-13 for thematic elements including some unsettling images

Storylines 3 more

When Walt Disney’s daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins,” he made them a promise—one that he didn’t realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation.

For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn’t budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp.

It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.
official plot version from disney.com

Trivia & Production Notes

• The script made the 2011 Black List. This marks the first time Walt Disney (the person) has ever been depicted in a dramatic film.

Shooting Locations

• October 2012: Los Angeles, California, United States

Questions & Answers Have a question about this movie? Ask it!

Related Links

• Saving Mr. Banks Official Facebook
• Saving Mr. Banks Tickets + Showtimes
• Saving Mr. Banks Buy/Rent Digital
• Saving Mr. Banks on Amazon
• Saving Mr. Banks on IMDb