Mary Poppins Returns reviews: What did the critics say about Mary Poppins Returns?

Mary Poppins Returns is setting itself up as the perfect Christmas movie, despite not featuring the holiday at all. Its themes of family, imagination, and triumph are all perfect for the late December holiday. The cast, particularly Emily Blunt and Lin Manuel Miranda, have been raking in praise for their performances. When the reviews embargo was lifted on December 12, the critics’ opinions began pouring in…

What did critics have to say about Mary Poppins Returns?

The Disney sequel currently holds a respectable 77 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The reviews aggregator’s critics consensus reads: “Mary Poppins Returns relies on the magic of its classic forebear to cast a familiar — but still solidly effective — family-friendly spell.”

Express.co.uk attended the world premiere in Los Angeles, gave it four out of five stars, and said: ” With a perfect blend of nostalgia and reinvention, Mary Poppins has returned to the big screens.”

For US Weekly, Mara Reinstein wrote: “Emily Blunt proves herself a sparkling successor to Julie Andrews – with a lovely singing voice to match.”

Giving it a score of B for Entertainment Weekly was Leah Greenblatt, who wrote: “Spoonfuls of sugar always help the movie magic go down; if only this Mary had gotten a necessary twist of lemon, too.”

Dana Stevens from Slate was also positive, and said: “This Mary Poppins may not be strictly necessary, but it’s more than sufficient.”

Jo Berry gave Mary Poppins Returns five out of five stars for Digital Spy.

Berry wrote: “A warm, funny and cuddly family movie that’s truly for everyone, and is a definite must-see for the Christmas season.”

Total Film’s Jane Crowther wrote: “A sweet, evocative throwback that delivers all the feels – in the most delightful way,” and gave it five out of five stars.

In the fervently positive camp was The Jewish Chronicle’s Linda Marric.

Marric praised Blunt’s performance, writing: “Blunt brings her own blend of feisty sprightliness and wit to a role immortalised by Julie Andrews.

“One might say, she’s practically perfect in every way.”

Some critics took a more measured view of the Disney movie, like Insider’s Kristen Acuna.

Acuna wrote: “Blunt and the many cameos are excellent in an otherwise fine Mary Poppins sequel.

“But the Mouse House’s fifth sequel of the year proves that maybe you don’t need a followup to every Disney movie ever made.”

Equally hesitant about Mary Poppins Returns was Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson, who gave the movie 2.5 out of five stars.

Wilkinson wrote: “It’s still a nice-looking, entertaining movie, and a fine way to spend a few hours with your family over the holidays.

“But I found myself wishing that an extra spoonful of sugar and a pinch of magic had been sprinkled in too.”

Giving a more dim view of the movie, Mashable’s Angie Han asked: “Now that Mary Poppins has returned… it seems worth asking: Did we really need her to?”

Mary Poppins Returns is out in UK cinemas on December 21, 2018.