“Winds in the East, mist coming in. Like something is brewin’ and about to begin. Can’t put my finger on what lies in store, but I fear what’s to happen all happened before.” Travers Goff. These gentle words opened up my eyes to the world of Saving Mr. Banks one evening in 2013. My grandparents had invited me to watch the film so I happily accepted. Walking out of the movie theater I could only feel a magical spark of purpose fixed upon my life.

Saving Mr. Banks is about what inspired Pamela Travers to write the classic book Mary Poppins. Throughout the movie Travers has an internal struggle to keep her book as original as possible as she argues with Walt Disney and his team to make it into a children’s movie. Her past haunting past of a depressed mother and loosing her alcoholic father makes it nearly impossible for Walt Disney to uncover the truth as to why Travers does not want to let her characters go. In the end Travers comes to peace with her past, present, and future.

As a film that is based off of real life events it relates to several other films like Saving Mr. Banks or The Imitation Game. Saving Mr. Banks is truly unique because it reminds and reveals hidden layers of the past. Not only Travers past but the younger generations exposed to the past of Disneyland and Walt Disney himself. This film is a mixture of conventional and unconventional films; it has a plot line with rising and falling action with a conclusion but there are many plot twists because of the movie being based off of real events. Saving Mr. Banks was a film that was inspired because of Mary Poppins. Later in 2018 Disney released the film Mary Poppins Returns.

Watching the film again filled me with the same sense of purpose I felt the very first night. With age I have grown to appreciate and relate Travers life struggles. Depression, death, and acceptance are battles that we all face at some point in our lives. Through all of life’s battles there are things worth living for. My favorite part in the movie has this one clip of music that brings me to tears every time I hear it.

In 2013 Saving Mr. Banks was a beloved movie by critics as well. With the mastermind of John Hancock as director and Emma Thompson playing Pamela Travers and Tom Hanks playing Walt Disney the criticism for mistake was minimal. As a movie that was a backstory to a classic film there are hardly any recent reviews about it. However, recent customer reviews show people still are in love.

Remembering and reviewing Saving Mr. Banks reminded me of the overwhelming joy I experienced. Understanding what is in the past and how much has changed since them shows you how much you have grown within that time. The past dictates and influences our future. In the words of Walt Disney himself, “That’s what storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again.”