Mary Poppins (character)

A quintessential English nanny, Mary Poppins is a slightly stern but caring woman, who uses magic and self-control to take care of the Banks children.[1] She is usually identifiable by her sensible hat and parrot umbrella, which she brings with her wherever she goes on outings, she also has the power to teleport to a place she wants. She is kind towards the children, but can be firm when needed. She is "practically perfect in every way". In the film version, she is a young woman, with an air of grace and elegance about her.

Author P. L. Travers was very firm about Mary Poppins' appearance in the novel's illustrations, working closely with illustrator Mary Shepard to create an image of the character. Eventually they based Mary Poppins' appearance on that of a Dutch doll: tall and bony, with short black hair, large blue eyes, a snub nose, and a prim, pursed mouth. Travers originally objected to the casting of Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, claiming that Andrews was too attractive for the role; however, upon meeting Andrews in person for the first time, Travers allegedly examined the actress for a few moments before conceding, "Well, you've the nose for it."[5]

Books

Main article: Mary Poppins (book series)

Mary Poppins as imagined by the illustrator of the book series, Mary Shepard, for the first volume

Mary Poppins in Travers' books is strict and no-nonsense, asserting her unusual brand of discipline over the four (later five) Banks children in her charge. Mary is very vain and is always admiring herself in the mirror and other reflections. She constantly lectures the children for their "bad" behaviour, especially when they point out the magical things she does, for she constantly denies she is anything but a prim and proper lady. Mary only shows her gentler side around her friends, among them the Matchman (Bert), Mrs. Corry, and Nellie-Rubina.

Mary has many relatives, each with their own supernatural or otherwise eccentric nature, at least one of whom appears in each book. She appears to be well known to every sort of magical entity (sorcerers, talking animals, etc.) that appear in the books, some of whom love her dearly and others who are quite terrified of her. Some characters, most notably an impudent jackdaw seen in the first two books, call her "The Great Exception", meaning, among other things, that she is the only human being who has retained the magical secrets infants possess (such as the power to communicate with animals) until they grow up and forget about them. Some of her adventures occur in London, others in strange realms, which later writers might identify as magical dimensions. In literary terms, she might be described as a character who exists in every conceivable fantasy genre (gothic, mythic, urban, etc.) at once: there are many strange people and phenomena in the world, but only Mary Poppins is familiar with them all. In the first book, Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London, home of the Banks family, with her travelling carpet bag, having been blown in by the east wind. She departs when she opens her umbrella, and the west wind carries her away.

Mary Poppins first appeared in the short story 'Mary Poppins and the Match Man' in 1926 and in several early bits and pieces of the first novel.[9] P. L. Travers later changed the story of the character's origins, stating that it appeared fully formed in her mind in 1934.[9]

• Julie Andrews, in the Disney film and in all merchandise.
• Mary Wickes, in an episode of the television series Studio One in 1949.
• Natalya Andrejchenko (acting) and Tatyana Voronina (singing), in the 1983 Soviet film.
• Juliet Stevenson, in the BBC Radio adaptation of the novel.
• Laura Michelle Kelly, in the original West End and Broadway productions of the stage musical.
• Ashley Brown, in the original Broadway and original US tour productions of the stage musical.
• Scarlett Strallen, in the London and Broadway productions of the stage musical.
• Bianca Marroquín, in the Mexican production of the stage musical.
• Lisa O'Hare, in the London and UK tour production of the stage musical.
• Caroline Sheen, in the original UK tour and US tour productions of the stage musical.
• Linda Olsson, in the Swedish production of the stage musical.
• Anne Hathaway, (in tribute to Julie Andrews), in a short parody sketch at season 34, episode 4 of Saturday Night Live in 2008.
• Rachel Wallace, in the US tour production of the stage musical.
• Victoria Summer (as Julie Andrews), in Saving Mr. Banks.
• Kristen Bell in a 2013 Funny or Die parody video, entitled Mary Poppins Quits.
• Zizi Strallen, in the UK tour production of the stage musical and the 2019 West End revival in London.
• Emily Blunt, in Mary Poppins Returns.

Neil Gaiman's short story "The Problem of Susan" mentions a work published after P. L. Travers's death, Mary Poppins Brings in the Dawn, in which Mary Poppins was Jesus's nanny.[10]

Mary Poppins appears in Alan Moore's third League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel, Black Dossier, when it returns to Margaret Cavendish's Blazing World. She later reappears in Century: 2009 and defeats the Antichrist created by Oliver Haddo. In this appearance, she and other characters hint that she may be a personification of God.

In a sequence celebrating British children's literature during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, a group of over thirty Mary Poppinses with umbrellas descended en masse to fight and defeat the nightmares (the villains Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil, and Lord Voldemort) haunting children's dreams.[11] The sequence is called "Second to the right and straight on till morning".[12]

Terry Pratchett's Susan Sto Helit character parodies Mary Poppins in various ways, most explicitly in the novel Hogfather.

In The Simpsons season 8 episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", Marge hires a new housekeeper for the family named Shary Bobbins (voiced by Maggie Roswell), who, though she attempts to help the Simpsons become better people, is ultimately driven to alcoholism.

Andy Weir's Cheshire Crossing depicts Miss Mary Poppins in 1910, prior to her employment to the Banks family, as she works as a tutor for Dr. Ernest Rutherford of Cheshire Crossing and is put in charge of Alice Liddell and Wendy Darling alongside her former student Dorothy Gale. Upon travelling to the land of Oz, Poppins is identified as a witch by the Wicked Witch of the West and melted with a bucket of water, before being reformed by Rutherford with a teaspoon of table sugar. In the 2017 physical graphic novel version of Cheshire Crossing, Poppins is renamed Gwendolyn Poole due to restrictions from P. L. Travers' estate, although she retains the Poppins name in the Tapas webcomic version. In the audio play adaptation, Poppins (as Poole) is voiced by Rebecca Soler.

Natalie Schafer (as Lovey Howell) plays a Mary Poppins-like character named Mary Poppedin in a dream sequence of the Gilligan's Island episode "And Then There Were None".

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Star-Lord compares Yondu to Mary Poppins at the climax, leading to him (who does not know the character) proudly proclaiming "I'm Mary Poppins, y'all!" as he saves Star-Lord from dying in the vacuum of space.

• Mary Poppins fictitious character at WorldCat