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Strollerderby Playdate: Why Mary Poppins Is The . . . Best . . . Kids' . . . Movie . . . Ever

Posted by Amy S.F. Lutz

It's hardly news that Disney movies - especially the more recent ones, from The Little Mermaid forward - are so full of scary villains, murder scenes, and orphaned babies that it's a wonder more kids aren't traumatized for life from watching them.  Still, I rather enjoyed this post on Adventures With Gretchen on everything else her kids learned from The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo, including how the only important thing in life is to find the right man and how to break your parents' hearts by telling them you hate them.

Really, I was just happy for an excuse to launch into one of my favorite rants, about how Mary Poppins is the best movie ever made for children, and my constant musing why more kids' movies don't follow that model:  NO death, NO bad guys, NO scary parts.  Yet the movie still manages to be vastly entertaining, due to its fantastic music and charming performances. 

So I throw down the gauntlet:  can anyone think of a more successful kids' movie than Mary Poppins?  And by success I don't mean box-office success, I mean success in creating a product so perfectly tailored to the whimsical tastes of children I suspect my great-grandkids will love it just as much fifty years from now as my kids love it today.   


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Comments

 

Kelly said:

Willy Wonka popped into my head but I discounted it because those wee little men scare the hell out of me.  

March 6, 2008 10:21 AM
 

Emily said:

Willy Wonka was my first thought, too. But the boat-in-the-tunnel scene scared me to death.

March 6, 2008 11:15 AM
 

Gracie5 said:

A lot of those old non-animated Disney movies were really fun, like The Shaggy Dog, The Apple Dumpling Gang, etc.  I also always loved Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but I haven't seen it recently enough to remember whether there were any scary parts.

March 6, 2008 11:42 AM
 

Amy said:

We recently watched "The Love Bug" which is the original Herbie movie, without LiLo. My kids both loved that.

March 6, 2008 2:24 PM
 

Kim said:

Mary Poppins is the best!  Dick VanDyke was such a cutie!  This is the only Disney movie one of my super vigilant fiends would let her son watch because it is the only one where nobody is called "stupid" or other names.  Who knew?!

March 6, 2008 5:42 PM
 

AllisonWonder said:

We love "Pontzin" (as my 2-year old calls Mary Poppins). I found one part scary when I was a kid: after Jane and Michael run away from the bank, and they're in the alleys... the freaky old lady and the barking dog are kind of frightening. But then Bert's there, and it's all good.

Great, great kids' movie.

March 7, 2008 7:53 AM
 

Philippa said:

Mary Poppins, no scary parts? NEGATIVE. The old bank man and the bird lady were very frightening. And I don't think I was a particularly easily scared child, but at least that bit's pretty short.

March 7, 2008 9:57 AM
 

nola said:

Emperor's New Groove.  It teaches the kid not to be a spoiled brat and to think about others. It also doesn't seem like it will get too dated.  Now, the bad guys do try to kill the llama, but it's not scary at all.  It's also so funny that I try to make the kids pick it all the time.

March 9, 2008 11:51 PM

About Amy S.F. Lutz

Amy S.F. Lutz's work has appeared in dozens of literary journals, including Cream City Review, The American Poetry Review, Puerto del Sol, and Mid-American Review. She and her husband have five children. Amy and her sister chronicle their adventures in communal living in their blog whoelsewantstoliveinmyhouse.com

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