Mary Poppins stars Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke were reunited last night on the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of Saving Mr Banks.
The pair starred as the titular nanny and chimney sweep Bert in the 1964 musical film based on the novel by P.L. Travers. The story of the struggle by Walt Disney to bring the film to the big screen in the 1960s is told in Saving Mr Banks with Emma Thompson starring as Travers and Tom Hanks as Disney.
The film also stars Colin Farrell, as Travers’ troubled father, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, B.J Novak and Ruth Wilson.
The film has already opened on this side of the Atlantic to strong critical reaction.
Emma Thompson has spoken about her joy as portraying such a strong female character telling Collider it was interesting to play someone who isn’t “so bloody polite, all the time…"
She added "I think, quite a lot of the time, we act in conflict with what we really feel. In films, we often get to play people who are emotionally, or at least morally, consistent, in some way, and [Travers] wasn't consistent, in any way. You would not know what you would get, from one moment to the next."
She continued "She went everywhere, so she was like going into a maze. Around some corners, you'd find this terrible monster. And around other corners, you'd find a beaten child. She was the most extraordinary combination of things."
