Mary Poppins - Plot

Mary Poppins is a film about a family that is reunited by Mary Poppins, the nanny, and her friend Bert, a chimney sweeper, by showing the parents what they have done wrong and what they should do better in future.

Mr and Mrs Banks are both too occupied with their own matters - Mr Banks with his job at a bank and and Mrs Banks with the light-hearted participation in the Suffragette Movement - to take active care of their children. This task is handed over to a quickly changing series of nannies of which the last is Katie Nanna, who leaves the house furiously as the two Banks’ children have gone missing the fourth time in a week and she simply cannot cope with them anymore. The expected qualifications of the new nanny differ a lot: Michael and Jane would rather have a cheerful nanny that plays with them and takes them as her son and daughter. Mr and Mrs Banks - Mr Banks is the more driving force in the house - insist on a strict and firm nanny. Therefore, the advert Michael and Jane have written is torn into pieces and disappears through the chimney.

Already on the very next morning, hundreds of nannies personifying Michael's and Jane’s very nightmare are waiting in front of the house to apply for the position, but due to a sudden change of wind, all of them are blown away. Instead, a nice looking lady comes flying through the air with an umbrella in her hand. Due to her self-assured appearance she is soon engaged as the new nanny for the children and starts her work right away. Over the next days, she turns the house completely upside down. She takes the children for outings in the park, to a fantasy ride on merry-go-round horses, a foxhunt, and a horse race which is won by Mary Poppins herself! She also takes them to her uncle who is trapped in laughing and who cannot stop. But soon Mr Banks complains to Mary Poppins about her being not strict enough and putting strange ideas in the children's heads. The result is that Mr Banks takes his children to his work place to show them the "right" way of life. But this experience is too much for the children and when Michael does not want to put his tuppence on his bank account and rather gives it to an old lady to feed the birds, he causes a riot at the bank and Mr Banks gets fired in the following. The children run away completely confused and meet Bert, who takes them home. At home, Mrs Banks is on her way to a Suffragette meeting, so although she does not know him, she leaves her children with Bert, as it is Mary Poppins’ day off. Returning just in time, Mary Poppins still cannot prevent that the children are pulled up the chimney onto the roof where they meet the "happy" chimney sweeps. Together with Mary and Bert, Michael and Jane explore the world of London's roofs and dance along with the chimney sweeps. Finally, one by one jumps down the chimney of the Banks' house. When Mr Banks comes home the very moment, he is horrified seeing all the dirty men in his house. Mr Banks just manages to hold back his son, who is on the way to leave with the sweepers and has already adopted their accent. He blames Mary Poppins for all his misfortunes, but then Bert appears, holding up a mirror in front of Mr. Banks in order to let him see all his mistakes. When Mr Banks is called to a meeting of the bank managers, he has to accept getting fired, and, even worse, is stripped off of all the symbols of his job: umbrella, poppy, and hat. On his leave, he tells the managers that there are more important things than financial matters.

At home the family is united again. Even Mrs Banks forgets about her emancipation and uses the Suffragette sash as a tail for the kite they are making together. In the park, they meet the bank managers again, who tell Mr Banks that he gets his job back because he made the main director of the board laugh so much that he died happily. All together, they let the kites fly. Only Mary Poppins is left behind unnoticedly and flies away as the wind has changed again.

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