Saving Mr. Banks

              Saving Mr. Banks is the story of the woman who created Mary Poppins, one of the most popular films and most beloved Disney nannies of all time. Mrs. P.L. Travers is the main character, a woman who has placed a wall around herself because of her tragic past with her alcoholic father. She is portrayed as a stone-set woman who is never satisfied with anything, and is a very hard woman to please or move. 
              The story begins in 1906, when Mrs. Travers was a young girl by the name of Ginty. It shows her and her father, a loving man who wants the best for her daughters, but doesn't seem too focused on his marriage. Ginty and her family are moving from their rural Australian home to a far-away cottage out in the Australian country. These small snippets of Mrs. Travers' life are shown throughout the story to help explain why she is so stone-set.
              The story then moves to 1961, 55 years in the future, where Walt Disney is trying earnestly to buy the rights to Mary Poppins to make it into a film. Mrs. Travers hasn't agreed for 20 years, but with no money left, she has no choice. She flies to California from England, an 11 hour flight, giving way to more insight into her childhood. 
              The process of making Mary Poppins into a film begins, but progress is extremely slow, because Mrs. Travers is never satisfied with what Walt or her crew wants to do with the film. She is set on making it into a film that reveals to children the darkness that is awaiting them in the world, while Walt Disney wants to make it into a film that is happy and shows that forgiveness solves everything. 
              Mrs. Travers isn't happy about that. Because, you see, Mary Poppins' story isn't about Mary at all. It's not about the children, it's not about the Banks Family, not about Dick Van Dike's character, not anything in the film. The story is about her. Mrs. Travers' real name is Helen Goff, and her drunken father died when she was very young, scarring her forever. 
             As Saving Mr. Banks progresses, we see why the film is called so. Mr. Banks is Mrs. Travers' father, being portrayed as Jane and Michael's father. Mrs. Travers is trying to preserve her father in the pages and film of Mary Poppins. 
            Walt finally realizes this, and makes a promise... that Mr. Goff will live on forever in imagination, his memory will forever be preserved as Mr. Banks, and his memory will forever be honored to those who know the history of Mary Poppins. Walt fulfills his promise, and Mary Poppins is successfully made into one of the most critically acclaimed and most beloved movies of all time. 
           I would highly recommend this story to anyone who is a fan of anything Disney, and is interested in the history of Disney's films. This story is moving, and will bring you to the edge of tears, this is a story of forgiveness. 
            So the moral is revealed: With forgiveness, even the hardest person to deal with can be changed.
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