Bob and Dick Sherman take centre stage in this well-researched account of how Walt Disney created a classic
L
ike many kids of the VHS generation, I must have watched my taped-off-the-telly copy of Disney’s Mary Poppins (1964) well over 100 times. I probably knew every frame as well as Walt Disney himself, who invested 20 years in bringing it to the screen.
The culmination of his live action achievements, Mary Poppins remained the project Walt was most proud of. A sophisticated, multi-Oscar-winning musical that proved the House of Mouse was about more than just cartoons, its box office success enabled him to expand his Florida ambitions for Disney World resort and shore up the company’s financial future.
But what was its secret formula? Here, Disney historian and podcaster Todd James Pierce methodically reveals the mechanics behind the magic. His accessible and slightly scholarly tome invites us to view the beloved movie, not through its star, Julie Andrews (then nervously making her Oscar-winning screen debut, aged 29), but through its unsung heroes. Really, it is a biography by stealth of Bob and Dick Sherman, the songwriting duo who redefined the Disney sound with hits including It’s a Small World (After All), one of the most performed songs of all time.
