When a movie is practically perfect in every way, the prospect of any sequel — let alone one produced more than 50 years after the original — seems like a recipe for disaster. Luckily, with a dash of mischief, a dollop of whimsy, and, yes, a hearty spoonful of sugar, Mary Poppins Returns manages to feel less like a cynical cash-grab and more like a visit from an old friend — even if the reality of her reappearance doesn’t quite live up to your fuzzy memories of the good ol’ days.
Set 25 years after the events of Mary Poppins, the sequel finds the titular nanny (who has effortlessly transformed into Emily Blunt) dropping back in on the Banks children when they’re all grown up. Feisty Jane (Emily Mortimer) is following in her activist mother’s footsteps as a labor organizer with no time for romance, and nebbish Michael (Ben Whishaw) is reeling from the death of his wife, simultaneously trying to take care of their three children, Annabel (Pixie Davies), John (Nathanael Saleh), and Georgie (Joel Dawson), while struggling to solve a stressful financial situation.