Mary Poppins Returns Review: 5 Ups & 4 Downs

3. It's Nostalgic Without Being Cynical

The biggest worry with a belated sequel of this sort is Hollywood's eagerness to lazily rely on nostalgia without bringing anything new to the table.

To that end, Mary Poppins Returns certainly could've been far keener to invoke its predecessor than it actually is, and though it's certainly fuelled by a fondness for the original, it doesn't go overboard in this regard.

There's never the feeling that this is an idle cash-grab, instead giving off a heartfelt affection for what came before without giving in to pandering fan service (there's not even the expected Julie Andrews cameo).

Yes, the songs are familiar enough and some of the original musical motifs are occasionally dropped into the film, but it impressively never feels too aggressive or that the filmmakers are using these elements as a crutch to compensate for their own lack of creativity.