Co-starring the great Emma Thompson and the extremely versatile Tom Hanks, the film boasts practically perfect casting. It ranks as the most captivating movie of the year for me. Thompson is absolutely magnificent as P.L. Travers, a set-in-her-ways writer who tries so hard to resist Disney’s efforts. And Hanks as Disney adds to the film’s charm -- as do the scenes where the author reacts with dismay to the movie being a musical – and with cartoon characters, which she thinks would be dreadful. 

Why was Disney so highly motivated to make a Mary Poppins movie? Because he promised his daughters he would do a film about their favorite heroine. However, Travers doesn’t like that idea one bit. After about twenty years of Disney requests, she finally agrees to meet with him because of personal financial difficulties. But she can’t bring herself to be very cooperative even though Disney uses all his considerable charisma and impressive resources to change her mind.

The highlight of Saving Mr. Banks for me involves scenes showing Travers meeting with the screenplay writers and songwriters (the wonderful Sherman brothers, played by B. J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman) assigned to the project. This is where Thompson shines the brightest. She thoroughly convinces us about how protective Travers feels concerning the fictional nanny she’s created. Her negative reactions to drawings of various scenes and story characters are priceless! She’s a woman who knows exactly what she does and does NOT want – there’s no in between.

Fortunately, we soon find out – through poignant flashbacks of her childhood experience with her alcoholic father (Colin Farrell, simply brilliant in this difficult part) – why Travers feels so strongly about everything connected to her Mary Poppins work. Thompson is equally believable when Travers begins to soften up a little. In one touching  interaction with the driver (Paul Giamatti, excellent here) who’s been assigned to her while she’s visiting Disney, Travers gives the man a peek into her gentle side, and Thompson manages to tug at our heartstrings without mercy. I think this may be her best performance ever. It’s an Oscar-worthy one, for sure, in my book.

Hanks plays Disney as a patient man with a mission. He’s especially watchable when taking Travers on a personal tour of Disneyland. We can actually feel his pride and joy about this beloved theme park. Although we sometimes realize we’re watching Hanks and not Walt Disney, which draws us out of the movie for a minute or two, I can’t think of another actor who could play this role any better.

More needs to be said, of course, about those wonderful musical numbers! This movie helps us appreciate the Sherman brothers’ genius even more. It’s a pleasure to see how they came up with such terrific songs as “A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down,” “Chim Chim Cheree” (an Oscar winner), “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” and “Suprcalifragilisticexpialidocious,” which is the best word I can think of to express my enthusiasm for Saving Mr. Banks. Like Disney’s Mary Poppins, it’s pure movie magic.        

(Released by Walt Disney Studios and rated “PG-13” for thematic elements including some unsettling images.)

Review also posted at ReelTalk Movie Reviews.