Here's everything to know...
Ever since it was announced that a Mary Poppins sequel was in the works, we have been counting down the days till its official release – and finally we have just days to wait.
Luckily, we already know that Emily Blunt is going to be the Mary Poppins of our dreams. How? Because of her husband John Krasinski’s reaction of course, with the actor explaining how he got through a whole packet of tissues watching his wife in the role.
Other key talking points are reportedly Emily’s magical vocal chords, the all-star cast (hello Meryl, Colin and Julie!) and the fact that Dick Van Dyke has returned to the same role he played 54 years ago, at the grand old age of 92.
But this week the film faced some backlash as its songs were dubbed ‘forgettable’.
‘The songs of Mary Poppins Returns are almost shockingly forgettable,’ Alissa Wilkinson wrote in Vox. ‘I defy you to hum any of the tunes on your way out of the theatre.’
The Hollywood Reporter seemed to agree, announcing, ‘There's no song as memorably poignant as Feed the Birds.’
This is something the cast was quick to defend.
‘I think it's a fantastic score, I really do,’ explained director Rob Marshall. ‘We didn't set out to make them stand-alone songs, because that doesn't work for a musical. What works for a musical is when they're integrated into the story.’
He continued: ‘But I will say they're so tuneful, so clever, so smart. And they're beautiful, so I think the more people hear the songs, the more they'll be part of their lives."
‘I remember hearing the new soundtrack for the first time, and I was just blown away,’ added Emily Mortimer. ‘They were beautiful songs and they're songs that really do stay in your head - and, like the first movie, each song is incredibly wry and funny and sophisticated, with the use of words and storytelling through the songs, and yet they've all got a message that's quite deep about life and how to approach things.’
‘I do feel confident that the soundtrack is going to be a big part of people's lives for years to come.’
’It’s not us trying to improve on Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,’ Lin-Manuel Miranda told BBC News. ‘You can't improve on that, and we know that.'
Well. That’s that.
