Film

Mary Poppins Returns

Name: Mary Poppins Returns
Genre: Fantasy, Family, Comedy
Released: 2018
Cast: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Pixie Davies

Fantasy
Light-hearted

A sequel that dares to honour rather than pillage its predecessor. Emily Blunt carries the poise and mystery that made the original work, while Rob Marshall trades frenetic spectacle for something closer to a storybook—patient, luminous, genuinely strange. It's for families who want their children enchanted rather than overwhelmed, and for adults who remember what enchantment felt like.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love old-fashioned Hollywood musicals built on bright, buoyant songs and a sweetly sly sense of nonsense, the kind that treats whimsy as a serious craft.

Skip it if you find a two-hour-plus run of singing and sugar wearing thin, or you want the original's sharp-edged magic rather than a loving echo of it.

What it asks of you: At 131 minutes it lingers, with long stretches of song-and-dance set pieces and a wistful undertow beneath the cheer rather than constant gags.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Enchanted2007

Amy Adams dissolves into genuine wonder as a fairy-tale princess thrust into Manhattan. The musical numbers are joyful and strange, and the film trusts its own whimsy without winking at the camera.

But The tonal shifts between satire and sincerity can feel jarring, and some of the comedy aimed at adults sits uncomfortably beside the children's story.

Cinderella2015

Kenneth Branagh brings balletic grace to a live-action fairy tale. Cate Blanchett is magnetizing as the villain, but the film's true magic is its visual restraint—it lets beauty breathe.

But Deliberately paced, with little plot momentum. If you want spectacle and surprise, this is contemplative to the point of stillness.

The NeverEnding Story1984

A film about stories themselves, pitched at children but never talking down to them. The practical effects feel genuinely alien, and the emotional stakes are real—characters you care about actually die.

But The second half slides into self-indulgence, and some of the creature effects have dated badly. The pacing meanders.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Mary Poppins Returns

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Into the Woods2014

Both are musical fairy tales about magical figures intervening in families' lives, but *Into the Woods* asks what happens when the magic wears off and bills come due—the inverse of its predecessor's comfort.

Sondheim's musical adaptation is dark-hearted in ways *Mary Poppins Returns* isn't—it takes fairy-tale logic and lets it shatter lives. Meryl Streep as the witch, Emily Blunt again, and a second act that demolishes the first's assumptions.

But It's genuinely tragic. The tonal shift from storybook to devastation alienates viewers expecting a traditional musical.

Spirited Away2001

Miyazaki's masterpiece: a girl navigates a bath-house of spirits with only her wits and kindness. Visually astonishing, narratively mysterious, full of the kind of logic dreams follow rather than sense.

But It's animated, which some dismiss before watching. It's also fundamentally strange and doesn't explain itself, which frustrates viewers hungry for clarity.

Stardust2007

Neil Gaiman's fairy tale is adventure-plot perfect—a young man crosses into a magical realm to fetch a fallen star. It's genuinely funny, thrilling, and Michelle Pfeiffer chewing scenery as a witch is transcendent.

But Tonally it wobbles between camp and sincerity. Some will find it too silly; others, not sentimental enough.

The Secret of Roan Inish1994

A girl discovers her family's connection to a magical island off the Irish coast. Quiet, strange, shot with watercolour beauty. It moves at its own pace and demands you surrender to its logic.

But Very slow, very low-key. There's no villain, no clear conflict. If you want a driving plot, you'll be restless.

Paddington 22017

A marmalade-loving bear's gentleness is the whole point. It's crafted with such intelligence and such obvious joy that it works for both cynics and believers. The action sequences are genuinely inventive.

But The wholesomeness is absolute—there's no ironic distance for adults to hide behind. If you're allergic to sincerity, this will feel relentless.

The Tale of Despereaux2008

A fairy tale about a small mouse with enormous courage. The voice acting is stellar, the animation rich without being slick, and the story finds real darkness alongside the magic.

But The narrative braids multiple storylines that take a while to converge. Some will find it overwrought; others, too cutesy despite its ambitions.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events2004

Jude Law's narrator is an architectural marvel of a performance, and Jim Carrey's theatrical villainy is exactly what the source material earned. It's mournful and visually baroque in ways studio films rarely dare.

But It's fundamentally about loss and despair dressed in whimsy. Children find it dark; some adults find the relentless gloom exhausting without enough narrative payoff.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events poster

The Owl House2020

Both centre on magical mentorship and the strangeness of being cared for by someone who doesn't quite fit the world you know—but *The Owl House* mines that relationship for genuine character growth rather than plot mechanics.

A animated series about a girl who stumbles into a demon realm and becomes a witch's apprentice. Modern, clever, gorgeous to look at, and genuinely moves from comedy into earned emotion without losing its humour.

But It's a TV show, so twenty-two minute episodes feel slight if you're expecting film-length arcs. Some animation snobs dismiss the medium reflexively.

Pan's Labyrinth2006

Both feature a child guided by a supernatural mentor through a dangerous world using imagination and magic, but *Pan's Labyrinth* suggests the adult world will not bend to belief—it's *Mary Poppins Returns* told by someone who grew up and learned how little goodness actually protects us.

Guillermo del Toro's masterpiece: a girl navigates a fantasy realm while fascism tightens around Spain in 1944. The practical creature design is unsettling and beautiful, and the film never cheats—magic cannot save you from history.

But It's violent and genuinely dark. A film for older children and adults, not families. The Spanish-language dialogue and subtitles put some off.