Steven Spielberg is known for many things. He has lit up many children’s eyes with films like E.T., terrorized entire generations from going to the beach with flicks like Jaws, and created awareness of unsung heroes with movies like Schindler’s List. None of that excuses what the famous producer/director is looking at for an upcoming project: remaking Mary Poppins.
Because Spielberg is associated with Dreamworks (soon to be Paramount), I’m assuming this is not a straight remake of the 1964 Disney picture, but rather a remake of the classic story, much like Tim Burton did earlier this year with his remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There is certainly room to bring a more faithful adaptation of the books to the screen. Author P.L. Travers was never crazy about the Disney adaptation in the first place.
The evidence certainly leads that direction as well. According to contactmusic.com, Spielberg has been talking with Sir Richard Eyre, the director of the London stage production of Mary Poppins about directing the feature film. According to Eyre, “"Spielberg wants to make a new film of Mary Poppins and we've talked about it a lot.” Although the contactmusic story goes on to mention the 1964 Julie Andrews vehicle, there’s no evidence from Eyre that that’s the film they would be making.
Eyre adds in, "It will be hard to outdo the original but kids love the story and I'm sure that the remake will be a real success." As much as I think this would be a big mistake, at the same time you can’t argue against it. Burton’s Charlie was a bigger success than expected, hitting the year’s weak box office at just the right time. With Spielberg’s name attached, a new adaptation of the Poppins books could do just as well.
I’ll stick with my Disney classic version however, thank you very much. I mean, why remake a tale that is already practically perfect in every way?
