Mary Poppins Returns

I have been anticipating Mary Poppins Returns for what seems like forever (it stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, after all).  I had the chance to see it last night and not even a theater full of crying and disruptive children could dampen my enthusiasm for this wonderful movie!  I absolutely loved it!  It is twenty years after the events in Mary Poppins and Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) still lives on Cherry Tree Lane with his children John (Nathanael Saleh), Annabel (Pixie Davies), and Georgie (Joel Dawson).  He is assisted by his incompetent housekeeper (Julie Walters) and his activist sister Jane (Emily Mortimer).  However, tragedy has struck the household because Michael's wife has recently died and the family home is about to be repossessed by the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, now being run by William Wilkins (Colin Firth).  It's Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) to the rescue when she retrieves Georgie's kite and returns to Cherry Tree Lane.  She and Jack the Lamplighter (Miranda) take the children on adventures in the bathtub ("Can You Imagine That?"), in a Royal Doulton bowl ("A Cover is Not the Book"), in a Fix-It Shop ("Turning Turtle"), and in the London fog ("Trip a Little Light Fantastic") before helping the Banks family find their mother ("The Place Where Lost Things Go") and save their house ("Nowhere to Go But Up").  I had a huge smile on my face the whole time I was watching it because, while it is a new story, it is just as whimsical and charming as the original.  Blunt and Miranda (sigh) are absolutely delightful, the children are adorable, the songs are a lot of fun, the choreography is spectacular (especially in "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" which is my favorite number because it reminds me of all of those old fashioned Hollywood musicals), and the visuals are stunning!  It is a heartwarming story and I may or may not have been openly weeping when the children sing a reprise of "The Place Where Lost Things Go."  I loved all of the cameos including Meryl Streep as Mary's eccentric cousin Topsy, David Warner as the Admiral who lives next door and Jim Norton as his First Mate, Dick Van Dyke as the Chairman of the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, and Angela Lansbury as the Balloon Lady.  This movie is practically perfect in every way and I highly recommend it, especially if you are nostalgic for the original!