document_title: Mary Poppins (film)

question_text: what is the chimney sweeps name in mary poppins

text: Mary Poppins (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: In Edwardian London, 1910, Bert entertains a crowd as a one-man band when he senses a change in the wind. Afterwards, he directly addresses the audience, and gives them a tour of Cherry Tree Lane, stopping outside the Banks family’s home. George Banks returns home to learn from Winifred that Katie Nanna has left their service after Jane and Michael ran away again. They are returned shortly after by Constable Jones, who reveals the children were chasing a lost kite. The children ask him to help build a better kite, but he dismisses them. Taking it upon himself to hire a new nanny, Mr. Banks advertises for a stern, no-nonsense nanny. Instead, Jane and Michael present their own advertisement for a kinder, sweeter nanny. But once Mr. Banks rips up the letter, and throws the scraps in the fireplace, the remains of the advertisement magically float up, and out into the air.

text: The next day finds a number of elderly, sour-faced nannies waiting outside. Then, a strong gust of wind blows them away, and Jane and Michael witness a young nanny descending from the sky using her umbrella. Presenting herself to Mr. Banks, Mary Poppins calmly produces the children's restored advertisement, and agrees with its requests, but promises the astonished banker she will be firm with his children. As Mr Banks puzzles over the advertisement's return, Mary Poppins hires herself, and convinces him it was originally his idea. She meets the children, then helps them tidy their nursery through song, before heading out for a walk in the park.

text: Outside, they meet Bert, working as a screever; Mary Poppins uses her magic to transport the group into one of the drawings. While the children ride on a carousel, Mary Poppins and Bert go on a leisurely stroll, and are served tea by a quartet of penguin waiters. Mary Poppins enchants the carousel horses, and participates in a horse race, which she wins. While being asked to describe her victory, Mary Poppins announces the nonsense word "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". However, the outing is ruined when a thunderstorm demolishes Bert's drawings, returning the group to London.

text: On another outing, the four meet Uncle Albert, who has floated up in the air due to his uncontrollable laughter; they join him for a tea party on the ceiling, telling jokes.

text: Mr. Banks becomes annoyed by his family’s cheery atmosphere, and threatens to fire Mary Poppins. Instead, Mary Poppins inverts his attempt by convincing him to take the children to the bank for a day. Mr. Banks takes Jane and Michael to the bank, where they meet Mr. Dawes Sr. and his son. Mr. Dawes aggressively attempts to have Michael invest his tuppence in the bank, snatching it from him. Michael demands it back, causing other customers to misinterpret, and all demand their own money back, causing a bank run.

text: Jane and Michael flee the bank, getting lost in the East End until they run into Bert, now working as a chimney sweep, who escorts them home. The three and Mary Poppins venture onto the rooftops, where they have a song-and-dance number with other chimney sweeps. Then, Mr. Banks returns home, receives a phone call from his employers, and speaks with Bert, who tells him he should spend more time with his children before growing up. Jane and Michael give their father Michael's tuppence in the hope to make amends.

text: Mr. Banks walks through London to the bank, where he is given a humiliating cashiering, and is dismissed. Looking to the tuppence for words, he blurts out "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!", tells one of Uncle Albert's jokes, and happily heads home. Dawes mulls over the joke, but finally "gets" it, and floats up into the air, laughing.

text: The next day, the wind changes, meaning Mary Poppins must leave. A happier Mr. Banks is found at home, having fixed his children's kite, and takes the family out to fly it. In the park, the Banks meet Mr. Dawes Jr, who reveals his father died laughing from the joke, and re-employs Mr. Banks as a junior partner. With her work done, Mary Poppins flies away, with Bert bidding her farewell, telling her not to stay away too long.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, a magical and loving woman who descends down from the clouds in response to the Banks children's advertisement for a nanny. She is not only firm in her use of authority but gentle and kind as well, a major departure from the original books, in which the character was strict and pompous.[6]
Dick Van Dyke as Bert, a cockney jack-of-all-trades and Mary Poppins's closest friend, who is completely accustomed to her magic. Their playful interactions imply that they have known each other for a long time and that this kind of story has repeated itself many times. Bert has at least four jobs throughout the film: a one-man band, a pavement chalk artist, a chimney sweep, and a kite seller.

Dick Van Dyke also portrays Mr. Dawes Sr., the old director of the bank where Mr. Banks works. During the film's end titles, "Navckid Keyd", an anagram of Dick Van Dyke, is first credited as playing the role before the letters unscramble to reveal Van Dyke's name.

David Tomlinson as George Banks, Mary Poppins' employer and father of Jane and Michael. He works at the Dawes Tomes Mousley Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank in London. He is a driven and disciplined man.
Glynis Johns as Winifred Banks, the easily distracted wife of George Banks and the mother of Jane and Michael. She is depicted as a member of Emmeline Pankhurst's "Votes for Women" suffragette movement. Mrs. Banks was originally named Cynthia, but this was changed to the more English-sounding Winifred per Travers.[7]
Hermione Baddeley as Ellen, the maid of the Banks residence.
Karen Dotrice as Jane Banks.
Matthew Garber as Michael Banks.
Elsa Lanchester as Katie Nanna, the disgruntled nanny who quits the Banks family.
Arthur Treacher as Constable Jones, a police officer.
Reginald Owen as Admiral Boom, the Banks' eccentric neighbor and a naval officer. He has his first mate, Mr. Binnacle, fire a cannon from his roof every 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Ed Wynn as Uncle Albert, a jolly gentleman who suffers from an unknown condition where he floats in the air during fits of uncontrollable laughter. Although he likes having company over, he becomes very sad and cries when his guests have to leave (he falls back to the ground, since it is the inversion of laughing).
Reta Shaw as Mrs. Brill, the cook of the Banks residence.
Don Barclay as Mr. Binnacle, Admiral Boom's first mate.
Marjorie Bennett as Miss Lark, owner of the dog named Andrew, who frequently runs away.
Arthur Malet as Mr. Dawes Jr., the director's son and member of the board.
Jane Darwell as the "Bird Woman," an old woman who sells breadcrumbs for the pigeons on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral.
Marjorie Eaton as Miss Maya Persimmon.
Jimmy Logan as a doorman who chases after the children in the bank.
Alma Lawton as Mrs. Corry, an old shopkeeper of a gingerbread shop and mother of two daughters.
Betty Lou Gerson as Old Crone (uncredited)
Kay E. Kuter as Man in Bank (uncredited)
Doris Lloyd as Depositor (uncredited)
Queenie Leonard as Depositor (uncredited)

text: Voices[edit]

text:
Julie Andrews as Robin, Female Pearly
Marc Breaux as Cow
Daws Butler as Penguin Waiter, Turtles
Peter Ellenshaw as Penguin Waiter
Paul Frees as Barnyard Horse
Bill Lee as Ram
Sean McClory as Bloodhound, Reporter #4
Dallas McKennon as Fox, Bloodhound, Penguin Waiter, Horse, Carousel Guard
Alan Napier as Huntsman, Reporter #3, Bloodhound
Marni Nixon as Geese
J. Pat O'Malley as Bloodhound, Hunting Horse, Master of Hounds, Pearly Drummer, Penguin Waiter, Photographer, Reporter #2
George Pelling as Bloodhound, Reporter #1
Thurl Ravenscroft as Hog, Andrew's Whimper
Richard M. Sherman as Penguin Waiter, Male Pearly
Robert B. Sherman as the "Bird Woman," Pearly Banjo Player
David Tomlinson as Penguin Waiter, Jockey, Race Track Stewards, Mr. Binnacle, Mary Poppins' Parrot Umbrella[8]
Ginny Tyler as Lambs

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: The first book in the Mary Poppins book series was the film's main basis. According to the 40th Anniversary DVD release of the film in 2004, Disney's daughters fell in love with the Mary Poppins books and made him promise to make a film based on them. Disney first attempted to purchase the film rights to Mary Poppins from P. L. Travers as early as 1938 but was rebuffed because Travers did not believe a film version of her books would do justice to her creation. In addition, Disney was known at the time primarily as a producer of cartoons and had yet to produce any major live-action work. For more than 20 years, Disney periodically made efforts to convince Travers to allow him to make a Poppins film. He finally succeeded in 1961, although Travers demanded and got script approval rights. The Sherman Brothers composed the music score and were also involved in the film's development, suggesting the setting be changed from the 1930s to the Edwardian era. Pre-production and song composition took about two years.

text: Pre-production[edit]

text: Travers was an adviser to the production. However, she disapproved of the dilution of the harsher aspects of Mary Poppins' character, felt ambivalent about the music, and so hated the use of animation that she ruled out any further adaptations of the later Mary Poppins novels.[9] She objected to a number of elements that actually made it into the film. Rather than original songs, she wanted the soundtrack to feature known standards of the Edwardian period in which the story is set. She also objected to the animated sequence. Disney overruled her, citing contract stipulations that he had final say on the finished print. Much of the Travers-Disney correspondence is part of the Travers collection of papers in the Mitchell Library of New South Wales, Australia. The relationship between Travers and Disney is detailed in Mary Poppins She Wrote, a biography of Travers, by Valerie Lawson. The biography is the basis for two documentaries on Travers, The Real Mary Poppins, and Lisa Matthews' The Shadow of Mary Poppins.[10][11][12] Their relationship during the development of the film was also dramatized in the 2013 film, Saving Mr. Banks.

text: Casting[edit]

text: Julie Andrews, who was making her feature film acting debut after a successful stage career, got the prime role of Mary Poppins soon after she was passed over by Jack L. Warner and replaced with Audrey Hepburn for the role of Eliza Doolittle in his screen adaptation of My Fair Lady, even though Andrews had originated the role on Broadway.[13] When Disney first approached Andrews about taking on the role, Andrews was three months pregnant and therefore was not sure she should take it. Disney assured her that the crew would be fine with waiting to begin filming until after she had given birth so that she could play the part.[14] Julie Andrews also provided the voice in two other sections of the film: during "A Spoonful of Sugar," she provided the whistling harmony for the robin, and she was also one of the Pearly singers during "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." David Tomlinson, besides playing Mr. Banks, provided the voice of Mary's talking umbrella and numerous other voice-over parts (including that of Admiral Boom's first mate). During the "Jolly Holiday" sequence, the three singing Cockney geese were all voiced by Marni Nixon, a regular aural substitute for actresses with substandard singing voices. Nixon would later provide the singing voice for Hepburn in My Fair Lady and play one of Andrews' fellow nuns in The Sound of Music. Andrews later beat Hepburn for the Best Actress Award at the Golden Globes for their respective roles. Andrews would also win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role. Hepburn did not receive a nomination. Richard Sherman, one of the songwriters, also voiced a penguin as well as one of the Pearlies.[15] Robert Sherman dubbed the speaking voice for Jane Darwell because Darwell's voice was too weak to be heard in the soundtrack. Sherman's voice is heard saying the only line: "Feed the Birds, Tuppence a bag."[16]

text: Disney cast Dick Van Dyke in the key supporting role of Bert after seeing his work on The Dick Van Dyke Show. After winning the role of Bert, Van Dyke lobbied to also play the senior Mr. Dawes, but Disney originally felt he was too young for the part. Van Dyke eventually won Disney over after a screen test.[17] Although he is fondly remembered for this film, Van Dyke's attempt at a Cockney accent is regarded as one of the worst film accents in history, cited as an example by actors since as something that they wish to avoid.[18] In a 2003 poll by Empire magazine of the worst film accents of all time, he came second.[19] Van Dyke claims that his accent coach was the Irish J. Pat O'Malley, who "didn't do an accent any better than I did".[20]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Filming took place between May and September 1963, with post-production and animation taking another 11 months.[21]

text: The film changed the book's storyline in a number of places. For example, Mary, when approaching the house, controlled the wind rather than the other way around. As another example, the father, rather than the mother, interviewed Mary for the nanny position. A number of other changes were necessary to condense the story into feature length. In the film, there are only two Banks children, Jane and Michael. The satirical and mysterious aspects of the original book gave way to a cheerful and "Disney-fied" tone. Mary Poppins' character as portrayed by Andrews in the film is somewhat less vain and more sympathetic towards the children compared to the rather cold and intimidating nanny of the original book. Bert, as played by Van Dyke, was a composite of several characters from Travers' stories. Travers demanded that any suggestions of romance between Mary and Bert be eliminated, so lyrics were written for "Jolly Holiday" that clearly indicated that their friendship was purely platonic; some subtle hints of romance, however, did remain in the finished film.

text: Music[edit]

text: Buena Vista Records released the original motion picture soundtrack on LP and reel-to-reel tape.[22] Due to time constraints, some songs were edited (such as "Step in Time" and "Jolly Holiday", "A Spoonful of Sugar"), while songs also featured introductory passages ("Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious") or completed endings ("Sister Suffragette", "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank", "A Man Has Dreams"). Written by Richard and Robert Sherman, the songs were inspired by Edwardian British music hall music.[23] The score won two Grammy Awards and two Academy Awards.[24][25]

text: Walt Disney Records re-issued the soundtrack in 1997, including a 16-minute track of unreleased songs and demo versions.[26] In 2004, as part of the 40th Anniversary (also called Special Edition), a 28-track disc (as part of a two-disc set) was released.[27] In 2014 (the 50th anniversary of the film's release), the soundtrack was released in a 3-CD edition as part of the Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection series; this edition includes demos of many "lost" tracks.[28]

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: All tracks are written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.

text: Deleted songs[edit]

text: A number of other songs were written for the film by the Sherman Brothers and either rejected or cut for time. Richard Sherman, on the 2004 DVD release, indicated that more than 30 songs were written at various stages of the film's development. No cast recordings of any of these songs have been released to the public, only demos or later performances done by the songwriters — with the exception of the rooftop reprise of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and the "smoke staircase yodel" mentioned below.

text:
"The Chimpanzoo", was originally to follow "I Love to Laugh" during the Uncle Albert "ceiling tea party" sequence, but it was dropped from the soundtrack just before Julie Andrews and company were to record it. The fast-paced number was not unveiled to the public until Richard Sherman, aided by recently uncovered storyboards, performed it on the 2004 DVD edition. The re-creation suggests it was to have been another sequence combining animation and live action.
"Practically Perfect" was intended to introduce Mary but instead the melody of the piece was used for "Sister Suffragette" (used to introduce Mrs. Banks). A different song with the same name was written for the stage musical.
"The Eyes of Love", a romantic ballad intended for Bert and Mary, but according to Richard Sherman, Andrews suggested privately to Disney that this song was unsuitable. In response, "A Spoonful of Sugar" was written.
"Mary Poppins Melody" was to be performed when Mary introduces herself to the children. Elements of the song later became part of "Stay Awake". The melody was the basis for a couple of other songs that were ultimately cut from the film.
"A Name's a Name". Heard on a recording taken of a meeting between the Sherman Brothers and Travers, this song was originally intended for the nursery scene that later became "A Spoonful of Sugar". The melody was reused for "Mary Poppins Melody".
"You Think, You Blink" was a short piece that Bert was to sing just before entering the chalk painting (and starting the "Jolly Holiday" sequence). In the film, Dick Van Dyke simply recites the lyric instead of singing it.
"West Wind" was a short ballad to be sung by Mary. The song was later retitled "Mon Amour Perdu" and used in the later Disney film, Big Red.
"The Right Side" was to be sung by Mary to Michael after he gets out of bed cranky. It was recycled for the Disney Channel television series Welcome to Pooh Corner as Winnie the Pooh's personal theme song.
"Measure Up" was to accompany the scene in which Mary takes the tape measure to Jane and Michael.
"Admiral Boom" was to be the theme song for the cannon-firing neighbor of the Banks Residence, but it was cut by Walt Disney as being unnecessary. The melody of the song remains in the film, and the bombastic theme is heard whenever Boom appears onscreen. One line from this song ("The whole world takes its time from Greenwich, but Greenwich, they say, takes its time from Admiral Boom!") is spoken by Bert early in the film.
"Sticks, Paper and Strings" was an early version of "Let's Go Fly a Kite."
"Lead the Righteous Life", an intentionally poorly written hymn, was to have been sung by Katie Nanna (Elsa Lanchester) along with Jane and Michael prior to Mary Poppins' arrival. The melody was later reused for a similar song in The Happiest Millionaire
"The Pearly Song" was not deleted per se but was instead incorporated into "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".

text: The Compass Sequence, a precursor to "Jolly Holiday", was to be a multiple-song sequence. A number of possible musical components have been identified:

text:
"South Sea Island Symphony"
"Chinese Festival Song"
"Tim-Buc-Too" – elements of this were reused for "The Chimpanzoo" which was also cut
"Tiki Town" – the melody was reused for "The Chimpanzoo"
"North Pole Polka"
"Land of Sand" – later rewritten as "Trust in Me" for the animated version of The Jungle Book
"The Beautiful Briny" – later used in Bedknobs and Broomsticks
"East is East" – another variation on the unused "Mary Poppins Melody".

text: Deleted scores and music[edit]

text:
The "Step in Time" sequence ends with the chimney sweeps being scattered by an onslaught of fireworks fired from Admiral Boom's house. In the final film, the scene plays out with sound effects and no music. The DVD release included the original version of the scene which was accompanied by a complex instrumental musical arrangement that combined "Step in Time", the "Admiral Boom" melody (see above), and "A Spoonful of Sugar". This musical arrangement can be heard on the film's original soundtrack.
Andrews recorded a brief reprise of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" which was to have accompanied Mary, Bert, and the children as they marched across the rooftops of London (an instrumental reprise of "A Spoonful of Sugar" was used as a march instead; however, Andrews and Dick Van Dyke can still be seen and heard singing a reprise of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" in that sequence, just before the other chimney sweeps appear for the "Step in Time" number).
The robin Mary Poppins whistles with in "A Spoonful of Sugar" originally sang a lyric as well.
Andrews also recorded a brief yodel which breaks into the first line of "A Spoonful of Sugar" which was to have been used to "activate" the smoke staircase prior to the "Step in Time" number. Although cut from the film, footage of Andrews performing this exists and was included on the 2004 DVD. The DVD also indicates that an alternate version of the yodel performed by Dick Van Dyke may also exist.

text: Release[edit]

text: Mary Poppins premiered on August 27, 1964, at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.[21][29] Travers was not extended an invitation to the event, but managed to obtain one from a Disney executive. It was at the after-party that Richard Sherman recalled her walking up to Disney and loudly announcing that the animated sequence had to go. Disney responded, "Pamela, the ship has sailed," and walked away.[12]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Mary Poppins was first released in late 1980 on VHS, Betamax, CED and LaserDisc. On October 28, 1994, August 26, 1997, and March 31, 1998, it was re-released three times as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection. In 1998, this film became Disney's first DVD. On July 4, 2000, it was released on VHS and DVD as part of the Gold Classic Collection. On December 14, 2004, it had a 2-Disc DVD release in a Digitally Restored 40th Anniversary Edition as well as its final issue in the VHS Format. The film's audio track featured an "Enhanced Home Theater Mix" consisting of replaced sound effects (to make the soundtrack more "modern") and improved fidelity and mixing and some enhanced music (this version was also shown on 2006–2012 ABC Family airings of the movie.) On January 27, 2009, the film was released on DVD again as a 45th anniversary edition, with more language tracks and special features (though the film's "Enhanced Home Theater Mix" was not included.) Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray as the 50th Anniversary Edition on December 10, 2013.[30]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: The film received universal acclaim from film critics.[31] Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of critics gave the film a "fresh" rating, based on 44 reviews with an average score of 8.3/10. The site's consensus refers to it as "A lavish modern fairy tale celebrated for its amazing special effects, catchy songs, and Julie Andrews's legendary performance in the title role."[32]

text: Variety praised the film's musical sequences and the performances of Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, in particular.[33] Time lauded the film, stating, "The sets are luxuriant, the songs lilting, the scenario witty but impeccably sentimental, and the supporting cast only a pinfeather short of perfection."[34]

text: Critic Drew Casper summarized the impact of Mary Poppins in 2011:

text: Disney was the leader, his musical fantasies mixing animation and truly marvelous f/x with real-life action for children and the child in the adult. Mary Poppins (1964) was his plum. ... the story was elemental, even trite. But utmost sophistication (the chimney pot sequence crisply cut by Oscared "Cotton" Warburton) and high-level invention (a tea party on the ceiling, a staircase of black smoke to the city's top) characterized its handling.[35]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The film earned $31 million in North American rentals during its initial run.[36] The film was re-released theatrically in 1973, in honor of Walt Disney Productions' 50th anniversary, and earned an estimated additional $9 million in North American rentals.[37] It was released once more in 1980 and grossed $14 million.[38] It returned a total lifetime rental of $45 million [39] to Disney from a gross of over $102 million from its North American theatrical releases.[3]

text: The film was the twentienth most popular sound film of the twentieth century in the UK with admissions of 14 million.[40]

text: The film was very profitable for Disney. Made on an estimated budget of $4.4–6 million,[2][41][42] it was reported by Cobbett Steinberg to be the most profitable film of 1965, earning a net profit of $28.5 million.[31][43] Walt Disney used his huge profits from the film to purchase land in central Florida and finance the construction of Walt Disney World.[44]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Awards

Award
Date of ceremony
Category
Recipients and nominees
Result

Academy Awards[25]
April 5, 1965
Best Picture
Walt Disney and Bill Walsh
Nominated

Best Director
Robert Stevenson

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Julie Andrews
Won

Best Adapted Screenplay
Don DaGradi and Bill Walsh
Nominated

Best Cinematography, Color
Edward Colman

Best Art Direction, Color
Carroll Clark, William H. Tuntke, Emile Kuri and Hal Gausman

Best Costume Design, Color
Tony Walton

Best Sound
Robert O. Cook

Best Film Editing
Cotton Warburton
Won

Best Visual Effects
Peter Ellenshaw, Eustace Lycett and Hamilton Luske

Best Original Song
"Chim Chim Cher-ee" – Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman

Best Score
Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman

Best Adaptation or Treatment Score
Irwin Kostal
Nominated

Golden Globe Awards[45]
February 8, 1965
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Robert Stevenson, Walt Disney and Bill Walsh

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role – Musical or Comedy
Dick Van Dyke

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role – Musical or Comedy
Julie Andrews
Won

Best Original Score
Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman
Nominated

Grammy Awards[24]
April 13, 1965
Best Recording for Children
Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Glynis Johns, David Tomlinson, Ed Wynn
Won

Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show
Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman

New York Film Critics Circle[46]
January 23, 1965
Best Actress
Julie Andrews
Nominated

Directors Guild of America Award[47]

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures
Robert Stevenson

Writers Guild of America Award[48]

Best Written American Musical
Don DaGradi and Bill Walsh
Won

tag: table

text: Legacy[edit]

text: Mary Poppins is widely considered to be one of the greatest films of all time and Walt Disney's "crowning achievement".[49] It was the only film of Disney's to garner a "Best Picture" nomination at the Oscars in his lifetime.[50]

text: The film also inspired the eighth-season episode of The Simpsons entitled "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", featuring a parody of Mary called "Shary Bobbins" who helps out the Simpson family after Marge loses her hair due to stress, and spoofs of the songs "The Perfect Nanny", "A Spoonful of Sugar", "Feed The Birds" and "The Life I Lead".

text: Never at ease with the handling of her property by Disney or the way she felt she had been treated, Travers would never again agree to another Poppins/Disney adaptation. So fervent was Travers' dislike of the Disney adaptation and of the way she felt she had been treated during the production, that when producer Cameron Mackintosh approached her about the stage musical in the 1990s, she acquiesced on the condition that he used only English-born writers and no one from the film production were to be directly involved with creating the stage musical.[51]

text:
AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" – #36

AFI's 100 Years of Musicals – #6[52]

text: Sequel[edit]

text: On September 14, 2015, it was reported that a new film was in development by Walt Disney Pictures. The film will take place 20 years after the first, featuring a standalone narrative based on the remaining seven books in the series. Rob Marshall has been hired to direct, while John DeLuca and Marc Platt will serve as producers.[53]


document_title: The Magic School Bus (TV series)

question_text: who sings the original magic school bus theme song

root

text: The Magic School Bus (TV series)

text: Characters[edit]

text: Ms. Frizzle (voiced by Lily Tomlin)

tag: ul

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally aired

First aired
Last aired

1
13
September 10, 1994
December 3, 1994

2
13
September 9, 1995
December 2, 1995

3
13
September 14, 1996
December 25, 1996

4
13
September 13, 1997
December 6, 1997

text: Production and broadcast[edit]

text: In 1994, The Magic School Bus concept was made into an animated series of the same name by Scholastic Entertainment and it premiered on September 10, 1994. The idea for the show was thought up by Former Scholastic Entertainment Vice President and Senior Editorial Director Craig Walker. Scholastic Entertainment president Deborah Forte said that adapting the books into an animated series was an opportunity to help kids "learn about science in a fun way".[3] Around that time, Forte had been hearing concerns from parents and teachers about how to improve science education for girls and minorities across the globe.[3] Each episode of the series ran for 30 minutes. In the United States, the series originally aired on PBS as a part of its children's block, PBS Kids, through South Carolina's SCETV network; it was the first fully animated series to be aired on PBS. The last episode aired on December 6, 1997; the series then aired reruns on PBS until October 1998. Fox Kids Network, in a hasty effort to fill educational television mandates for its stations, aired repeats on its weekday block from September 1998 to September 2002. Starting September 27, 2010, The Magic School Bus started a daily run on Qubo in the US, and on Saturday mornings on NBC. The Fox Kids and Qubo airings both used a shortened version of the opening. Based on information from their website, Qubo no longer carries The Magic School Bus in their programming lineup.

tag: p

text: The Magic School Bus was also seen on TLC from February 24, 2003 until 2008, and aired on the Ready Set Learn block on Discovery Kids from 2004 to 2009,[3] TVOntario and the Knowledge Network in Canada and Pop, Channel 4 and CITV in the United Kingdom, with no plans to make more episodes. The series was widely known in Canada for showing reruns on CBC as part of its children's block, now known as Kids' CBC, from 1999 to 2004. In 2005, Nelvana sold the series to Latin America's Cartoon Network.[4]

text: When The Magic School Bus was syndicated on commercial networks, the Producer Says segment at the end of each episode was cut out to make space for commercials. The Producer Says segments were only seen when the series was shown on non-commercial networks, international networks, VHS, and DVD releases. Within the episodes, there were also time points where the episode fades out and then fades back in after a series of commercials are shown. On non-commercial networks, VHS, and DVD releases the scene immediately fades back in right after it fades out as no commercials are shown.

text: The show's theme song called "Ride on the Magic School Bus" was written by Peter Lurye and performed by rock 'n' roll legend Little Richard.[5]

text: The show was produced through cel animation and in an audio style reminiscent of Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 1970s and 1980s. The show's voice director was Susan Blu, two of the writers for the show were Brian Muehl and Jocelyn Stevenson, who also worked on Fraggle Rock.

text: On the PBS version, the show was funded by the National Science Foundation, Microsoft Home, the US Department of Energy, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the annual financial support from the viewers/stations of PBS. The show was close-captioned by the National Captioning Institute when it aired on PBS.

text: Broadcast history[edit]

text: In the United States, The Magic School Bus series was presented by PBS from its inception until 1998, then by Fox Kids from 1998 until 2002. Child-oriented network Qubo showed episodes between 2010 and 2012. In Canada, it ran on Teletoon from 1998 until 2000, and has run on TVO Kids from 1998 until the present time. It was presented internationally by Discovery Kids from 2004 to 2009, and in the UK, Latin America, Australia, Spain, and India by Nickelodeon from 1995 to 2003. It was also shown in the UK by Pop from 2003 to 2007. It aired for some time on Channel 4 from 1996 to 2000. It also aired on CITV from 1995 to 2002. Other airers have included Disney Channel (Japan, 2003 to 2005), Kindernet (2003 to 2007), EBS of South Korea (1995 to 1999), Boomerang (Latin America, 2001 - 2004), The Den (Ireland) from 1995 to 2000 and Channel 6 (Israel), 1999 to 2002.

text: Home media[edit]

text: The series was originally released on VHS by KidVision between 1995 and 2003 and by PBS Home Video between 1998 and 2002, and on DVD by Warner Home Video between 2002 and 2013. Only the DVDs contain the funding credits. In the home video releases, all the episodes are uncut with the Producer Says segments intact. In the UK, it was broadcast until mid-2007 when it was removed off the air on Pop channel.

text: On July 31, 2012, New Video Group released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.[6]

text: On August 15, 2013, Scholastic announced the entire series would be available on Netflix.[7]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Jason Fry, in a column for the online edition of The Wall Street Journal, expressed an overall appreciation for the show, but wrote that the episode "The Magic School Bus Gets Programmed" should have been about the perils of Internet searches and network concepts surfacing at the time, rather than an old-fashioned technology-run-amok story about the respective roles of programmer and machine (although he conceded that the episode was ten years old).[8]

text: Tomlin won a Daytime Emmy for her role as Ms. Frizzle.[9]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text:
Year
Nominee/work
Award
Result

1998
The Magic School Bus
ALMA Award for Outstanding Program for Children or Youth
Nominated

1997
The Magic School Bus
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program
Nominated

1997
Lily Tomlin (for playing "Ms. Frizzle")
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program
Nominated

1997
The Magic School Bus
Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming
Nominated

1996
Lily Tomlin (for playing "Ms. Frizzle")
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program
Nominated

1996
Milton Buras (for episode "Halloween Special")
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Hairstyling
Nominated

1996
The Magic School Bus
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program
Nominated

1996
The Magic School Bus
NCLR Bravo Award for Outstanding Program for Children or Youth
Nominated

1995
Lily Tomlin (for playing "Ms. Frizzle")
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program
Won

1995
The Magic School Bus title designers and graphic artists
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Graphics and Title Design
Nominated

1995
The Magic School Bus (for episode "...Meets the Rot Squad")
USA Environmental Media Award for Children's Animated Program
Nominated

text: Games[edit]

text: Various computer and video games associated with the series were released from 1994 to 2001, and were typically amalgamations of storylines from both the original book series and the television show. The games were published by Microsoft.

text: A video game titled The Magic School Bus: Oceans was released for Nintendo DS on October 25, 2011, ten years after the release of the last game. The video game, similar to the computer game before it, was likely based on the book, The Magic School Bus On the Ocean Floor and the TV episode, The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten. This is the only game to have been released for the Nintendo platform.

text: Revival series[edit]

text: On June 10, 2014, a new series was announced by Netflix and Scholastic Media titled The Magic School Bus 360°.[10][11] The new iteration of the franchise features a modernized Ms. Frizzle and high-tech bus that stresses modern inventions such as robotics, wearables and camera technology. The producers hoped to captivate children's imaginations and motivate their interest in the sciences.[12][13] 9 Story Media Group would produce the series.[14] Producer Stuart Stone, who voiced Ralphie in the original series, stated that The Magic School Bus 360° will feature some of the original voice actors in different roles. The show's voice cast is based in Los Angeles, California, United States and Toronto, Ontario, Canada with Susan Blu as the Los Angeles voice director and Alyson Court as the Toronto voice director.[15]

text: In February 2017, Netflix announced that Kate McKinnon was cast in the role of Fiona Felicity Frizzle, the younger sister of Ms. Frizzle, now Professor Frizzle. Lily Tomlin would reprise her role as Ms. Frizzle. By this point the title of the series had been changed to The Magic School Bus Rides Again.[16] Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame would sing the theme song.[17] The series was released on Netflix on September 29, 2017.[18]