Mary Poppins Returns Review: 5 Ups & 4 Downs

1. The INCREDIBLE Animated Sequence

There are several highly entertaining set-pieces in the movie, but nothing comes close to the utter show-stopper that is the mid-film animated sequence where Mary, Jack and the Banks kids are transported onto the hand-drawn landscape painted on a prized ceramic bowl. Yes, it's as weird as it sounds.

What follows is a stunning 15-minute combination of live-action and animation as the gang travels around the bowl and ends up at the lush Royal Doulton Music Hall, where Mary and Jack perform a startling - and surprisingly rude - Chicago-esque musical number.

In addition to serving as an homage to the original movie's animated sequence, the prolonged set-piece has an unmistakable whiff of Who Framed Roger Rabbit about it, which becomes less surprising once you know that the film's legendary animator James Baxter also worked on Mary Poppins Returns.

It's honestly one of the most visually imaginative and downright impressive movie sequences of the year, and one that not even Marshall's fairly middling directorial effort could work against.

What did you think of Mary Poppins Returns? Shout it out in the comments!