Step in Time! Step in Time! A DVD review of Mary Poppins 45th Anniversary Edition

Where to begin? Well if you’re a fan of Mary Poppins like I am then you undoubtedly cherish your 40th Anniversary Edition DVD. You’ll also remember it being only about five years ago that you Stepped in Time and made your purchase. Thus, you might be wondering, do I care about this new fangled release for the 45th Anniversary edition? The answer of course is YES. Yes, that is, if you’re like me and an avid fan of Mary Poppins. Anything that’s definitive for something that I love is a must-own and that’s what this new release has now become, trumping the 40th Anniversary edition. There’s a very clear distinction to make here and that’s that every single bonus feature from the 40th Anniversary has been ported over here except for the set-top game which has been nixed in favor of more room for the new bonus features. What then has really changed in the world of Mary Poppins in the last five years to warrant a re-release of the film? The answer obviously is BROADWAY. The musical stage version of Mary Poppins first opened December 2004 to positive reviews and went on to earn two Olivier awards (one Best Theatre Choreography and another for Laura Michelle Kelly, Best Actress in a Musical). It is this topic then that is the sole focus of the new bonus features. The meat and bones of the new additions is the new Mary Poppins from Page to Stage documentary. The piece is rather well done with some nicely done artist merit in terms of its delivery and appearance. More importantly, though, it’s an entertaining documentary to watch; even for someone like me who has not even seen the musical yet. While the breadth of what is covered isn’t much to swoon about, we do get a very personal feeling here as we are presented with a series of exclusive video pieces and interviews with Laura Michelle Kelly and Gavin Lee at the Sardis Restaurant in New York as they reminisce about creating and portraying the lead characters. We bob in and out of these pieces with another set of video interviews with George Stiles and Anthony Drewe in their French vacation home where they spent hours on end originally creating the music and lyrics for the stage version of the show. We also get a bit of interaction with them on the phone with Richard Sherman (obviously staged a bit) who co-wrote the music for the original film with his brother Robert Sherman. Sprinkled in and out inbetween the video sets are various other key figures involved with the creation of the show including Bob Crowley (costume and set design) and Cameron Macintosh (producer). Together the documentary is a rather nicely strung together piece that gives a good sense of the making of the show. The second biggest piece, for me at least, was the Bob Crowley’s Design Galleries which featured pictures, sketches, and drawings of the costumes and sets that were used in the show. This is always a very simple and understated feature that I think no good Special Edition DVD is complete without and I’m glad to have them on the disc. It’s fun to compare and contrast the film we know and love with the new stage versions. The other piece that might be of more interest, though, is the “Step in Time” segment which is the full scene of that musical number portrayed by the original cast of the show! We get an introduction by Composer George Stiles (for people like me who have no idea about much of anything regarding the stage version) and he sets the scene in the musical that Mary and Bert take Jane and Michael to the rooftops to see the world of the Chimney Sweeps who in this stage version of the story are like guardian angels. The fourth and final new addition on this set is the ability to Download an MP3 of “Step in Time” which can be done from your computer’s DVD-rom. I had the DVD in my DVD-rom and accessing the Feature from the menu still told me that I needed to be on a computer. I actually had to go into the DVD drive on “My Computer” where I found a folder called “Step_In_Time_Download.” Once inside this directory, there is the Mac option and a PC option where, after clicking the appropriate setting for your computer, gives you direct access to the MP3 file or a little program that runs with a flashy screen that gives you a button to press to “Download MP3.” It saves to your desktop, it’s still there on the disc though where you can download it again later. As for the rest of the disc, well, as far as I can tell every single feature is exactly the same as it is on the 40th Anniversary edition. These features include the Audio Commentary (with Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Karen Dotrice, and Richard Sherman) which is just a wonderful feature to be able to listen to as you watch the film, Poppins Pop-up Fun Facts that fill the screen during the movie with trivia and facts, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: The Making of Mary Poppins which is a definitive behind the scenes look at the making of the film, Movie Magic which gives a quick look at the special effects in the film, Gala World Premiere which was compiled from recovered pieces of radio and television media, Dick Van Dyke Make-up Test, plus all the Trailers, ads, and still galleries which were all the same, as well. One other new thing that I really have to comment on is the BEAUTIFULLY done menu scenes and their transitions, they have a wonderfully creative and artistic vibe that meshes rather well with the film and with the musical. It’s beautifully done animation and very whimsical, somewhat like the style of the “Desperate Housewives” opening credits. So where does this leave us off with the 45th Anniversary Edition of Mary Poppins? Well, the fact that this wasn’t released on Blu-Ray makes me wonder if an even greater version is yet to be released. Focusing on the material at hand, however, we have an updated version of the already wonderfully done version that came out five years ago plus some great new additions that fans of the Broadway musical will surely love. Those who have not yet seen or are not interested in the musical may have a hard time justifying the cost of upgrading when all of the same features can be found here. That may be a downfall for this release however anybody looking for the most complete edition of the famed British nanny need look no further than the Mary Poppins 45th Anniversary Edition DVD. Mary Poppins: 45th Anniversary Edition is available January 27th.