Mary Poppins Returns Review: 5 Ups & 4 Downs

4. The Catchy, Toe-Tapping Songs

While it's fair to say that none of the music here can match the iconic majesty of the original film's unforgettable songs, the tunes written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman are for the most part in the peppy, effervescent spirit of the 1964 film.

Many of the marquee songs are basically thematic or stylistic remakes of the first movie's soundtrack, but thanks to the enthusiastic vocal performances and inherent catchiness of the music, they mostly go down like, indeed, a spoonful of sugar.

The clear highlight is the sure-to-be-Oscar-nominated "The Place Where Lost Things Go", while the more upbeat "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" could end up sneaking in there also.

Again, there's little here likely to have the same staying power as "A Spoonful of Sugar" or "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", but the songs mostly nail the frothy, fun notes you'd hope for.