As Mary Poppins, Emily Blunt had some very big shoes to fill. In Mary Poppins Returns, the eponymous nanny comes back to aid the Banks family who face a new world of tribulations. The movie-musical is out on DVD and Blu-ray today, so take a peek at an exclusive behind the scenes clip from the home edition.
The video gives audiences a glimpse into the behind the scenes magic of Mary Poppins Returns.
In this Broadway Bootcamp, stars Emily Blunt and Lin Manuel Miranda worked with director Rob Marshall to make the dances perfect.
Emily Blunt said: “The dancing was something I was slightly dreading. Particularly, knowing that you’re going to be dancing with 30 professional dancers.
“So we rehearsed and we rehearsed. Rob said ‘you’ve gotta be in your body so on the day when the cameras are rolling and you’re in the costume you don’t have to think about it ””
Miranda comes from a background in theatre, having reached stratospheric fame for his musical Hamilton.
His background prepared him well, but Miranda was still impressed by the rehearsal process for the movie.
He said: “Coming from the theatre world I feel so spoiled. You never get as much rehearsal time as we’ve gotten and it’s so worth it.”
“What’s amazing is not just how incredible they are but how it look spontaneous.”
There are plenty of behind the scenes features on the Blu-ray edition which explore the making of Mary Poppins Returns.
Extensive extras include a trip down Cherry Tree Lane with original cast member Dick Van Dyke, a sing-along version including the heartfelt Academy Award-nominated The Place Where Lost Things Go, bloopers, deleted scenes and a deleted song.
Features also reveal the magic and moxie that went into creating large-scale musical production numbers, such as Trip a Little Light Fantastic, a rousing song-and-dance number led by Jack and his fellow lamplighters; Turning Turtle, an upside-down sequence featuring Meryl Streep as Mary’s eccentric Cousin Topsy; and Can You Imagine That? an underwater adventure with Mary Poppins and the Banks children.
The Blu-ray edition also offers fans the chance to watch Mary Poppins Returns in sing-along mode.
In Mary Poppins Returns, Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) — just a child when Mary Poppins first visited 17 Cherry Tree Lane — is now a grown man raising his children Annabel (Pixie Davies), John (Nathanael Saleh) and Georgie (Joel Dawson) with help from his sister Jane (Emily Mortimer).
Times are tough in Depression-era London but the winds begin to change when mary Poppins, the enigmatic governess whose unique magical skills can turn any ordinary task into a fantastic adventure, enters the lives of the Banks family once again, having not aged a single day.
Together with an old friend, Jack, they take the Banks children on a series of whimsical adventures, encountering colourful characters like Mary’s eccentric Cousin Topsy (Maryl Streep), Jack’s lovable band of leeries and bank executives William Weatherall Wilkins (Colin Firth) and Mr Dawes Jr. (Van Dyke).
At the end of it all, Mary Poppins and her cohor bring life, love and laughter back into the Banks’ home.
Mary Poppins Returns is available to own on digital download, DVD and Blu-Ray from April 15, 2019.