Tonight, I had the honor of attending an early screening of Saving Mr. Banks. It’s so much fun to see movies before they come out!

I had seen a preview for this movie about 4 months ago and was super excited! I love movies that a) are about making other movies b) are about the writing process (I LOVED Stranger Than Fiction!) c) are anything Disney.

This movie did NOT disappoint! It was really two stories, the story of how Mary Poppins came to be and how the movie came to be. It skillfully wove the two stories together. Tom Hanks was, as always, incredibly believable as Walt Disney. I love that he has the ability to make you forget that he is the actor in the roles he plays. This fact makes him one of my favorites. I knew virtually nothing about P. L. Travers before the movie, but in equal fashion, Emma Thompson made me forget I was watching Emma. I learned more about the character of Mrs. Travers (stay through the credits at the end…at least part way through) and after seeing that, Emma Thompson’s performance was remarkable.

It was a truly bittersweet tale. One minute I’m laughing and the next the tears were pouring down my face (I have NO shame in this by the way). One of the friends commented after that she didn’t expect to laugh so much. It was a delightful blend of imagination, childhood dreams and the realities of life.

A caution to parents. This is a PG-13 film. While there was no sex and if there was language, I don’t remember it….some of the subject matter is definitely older. I won’t go into what exactly it is, because I’m all about not giving away things about movies. But if you have a child under the age of 13, look into what that subject matter is.

The movie comes out on December 20th, make sure you check it out!