A secret guilty pleasure!

I have to confess I love this film, warts and all. Yeah, some of it's a bit clunky, with somewhat stagey and workmanlike direction and a formulaic score from the Sherman Brothers that sounds like a concerted effort to catch the Mary Poppins lightning in a bottle a second time. (It didn't work, but I'd say the score, if not very distinguished, at least is certainly adequate to the task.)

What really works for me is the Panto-like playfulness in the script, which lifts this to being a spirited retelling of the story without any gimmicky "re-imagining", and the casting, which is truly inspired. The expert cast are clearly having such a darned good time, and give witty, inventive performances -- it's such a joy to see Edith Evans and Margaret Lockwood again; Kenneth More and Julian Orchard add so much character, and Michael Hordern is a bit of a revelation - he's so funny and his timing is perfect. And who knew he could sing?! Annette Crosbie, who I've always enjoyed, is the Fairy Godmother I'll bet we all wish we had, and Richard Chamberlain and Gemma Craven are great as the leads, neither stuffy nor insipid. And, though the singing skills vary across the board, they all make the songs work as moments of character or humour, rather than the interpolated "singing bits" we often see in musicals.

I'll risk a cultural slight and say I'm personally glad this was a British production, because it has a crisp blend of genuine emotion and gentle self-mockery that I've almost never seen American productions achieve. American humour tends towards pratfalls and a "zaniness" that would have just crumpled this film under its weight.

All in all: magic stuff.


You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.