Turn back time? Stop the clock.
Can we turn back time? Probably not. But, we can stop the clock, just long enough to serve the illusion. This evening, I watched the second chapter of a story I first saw a full half-century ago. Let’s begin with a quote, shall we?
“We’re on the brink of adventure, children. Don’t spoil it with questions”.
And indeed, let’s not. Rather, put aside all you have learned; about the laws of physics, and economics and even the rules of the ordinary bathtub. Tonight, Mary Poppins returned. No over the top words, like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”. Instead, for the adult in me, a realization that what sows terror in the mind of an adult is often just like “a spoonful of sugar” to a child.
I give credit to the team behind Chapter Two. Not simple to take on the mythos of a generation, and try to match the colour and sound. CGI has evolved, in the interval, but replacing chimney sweeps with lamplighters serves only to remind me that things have changed. Still, I enjoyed the ride, and will be leery of balloons, going forward.
For anyone that wonders how you tie a story across a very long time, here are some hints. Keep the same bank building. Use umbrellas for anything other than cover from a London rain. Forget the dancing penguins; they’ll never convince the keen minds of then OR now. And choose your cast carefully. A couple of Emily(s), a Lin-Manuel, some senior recalls like Dick and Angela. It will work. Somehow, I don’t foresee a third part, because the story has come full circle, but then again, we never know. Remember, “you can’t lose what you haven’t lost”.
