Saving Mr. Banks
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Author P.L. Travers looks back on her childhood while reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.
What critics thought
Emma Thompson's performance as P. L. Travers is the film's undisputed center of gravity, winning over even skeptical critics, while Tom Hanks draws more divided opinion. The deeper fault line runs between those who found the film a genuinely affecting backstage portrait and those who saw it as a Disney-sanctioned whitewash — charming on the surface but quietly airbrushing the real Travers's resistance and the company's commercial motives.
“affecting if somewhat soft-soaped comedy drama, elevated by excellent performances”
Leslie Felprin·The Hollywood Reporter
“Thompson dances her way through Travers's conflicting emotions, giving us a fully rounded portrait of a person who is hard to like but impossible not to love.”
Mark Kermode·The Observer
“On the one hand, Saving Mr. Banks (which was developed by BBC Films and has a British producer) is a probing, insightful character study with a very dark undertow. On the other, it is a cheery, upbeat marketing exercise in which the Disney organization is re-promoting one of its most popular film characters.”
Geoffrey Macnab·The Independent
“this has the self-conscious whiff, if not of mendacity, then of public relations”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
Accolades
Genres
Biography, Comedy, Drama
Cast & Crew
John Lee HancockDirector
Emma ThompsonP.L. Travers
Tom HanksWalt Disney
Colin FarrellTravers Robert Goff
Paul GiamattiRalph
Ruth WilsonMargaret Goff
Jason SchwartzmanRichard Sherman
Bradley WhitfordDon DaGradi
Annie Rose BuckleyGinty
B.J. NovakRobert Sherman
Kathy BakerTommie
Melanie PaxsonDolly
Thomas NewmanComposer
Kelly MarcelWriter
Sue SmithWriter
John SchwartzmanCinematographySaving Mr. Banks
Author P.L. Travers looks back on her childhood while reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.
What critics thought
Emma Thompson's performance as P. L. Travers is the film's undisputed center of gravity, winning over even skeptical critics, while Tom Hanks draws more divided opinion. The deeper fault line runs between those who found the film a genuinely affecting backstage portrait and those who saw it as a Disney-sanctioned whitewash — charming on the surface but quietly airbrushing the real Travers's resistance and the company's commercial motives.
“affecting if somewhat soft-soaped comedy drama, elevated by excellent performances”
Leslie Felprin·The Hollywood Reporter
“Thompson dances her way through Travers's conflicting emotions, giving us a fully rounded portrait of a person who is hard to like but impossible not to love.”
Mark Kermode·The Observer
“On the one hand, Saving Mr. Banks (which was developed by BBC Films and has a British producer) is a probing, insightful character study with a very dark undertow. On the other, it is a cheery, upbeat marketing exercise in which the Disney organization is re-promoting one of its most popular film characters.”
Geoffrey Macnab·The Independent
“this has the self-conscious whiff, if not of mendacity, then of public relations”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
Accolades
Genres
Biography, Comedy, Drama
Cast & Crew
John Lee HancockDirectorEmma ThompsonP.L. TraversTom HanksWalt DisneyColin FarrellTravers Robert GoffPaul GiamattiRalphRuth WilsonMargaret GoffJason SchwartzmanRichard ShermanBradley WhitfordDon DaGradiAnnie Rose BuckleyGintyB.J. NovakRobert ShermanKathy BakerTommieMelanie PaxsonDollyThomas NewmanComposerKelly MarcelWriterSue SmithWriterJohn SchwartzmanCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy