Mary Poppins Returns
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: December 19, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 54 Critic Reviews
Positive:
36
Mixed:
16
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Rolling StonePeter TraversDec 18, 2018
When Blunt and Miranda cut through the film’s glucose overload and take off into the wild blue of their own unique and extraordinary talents, Mary Poppins Returns shows it has the power to leave you deliriously happy. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawDec 12, 2018
I admire it for its craftsmanship and technique, like a machine for creating nostalgia. Read full review
60
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeDec 12, 2018
There’s probably no real reason for Mary Poppins Returns to exist at all, but now that it’s here, it does at least find some moments of delight even as it travels a familiar path. Read full review
58
The Film StageVikram MurthiDec 14, 2018
Ultimately, there’s just too much extra baggage for Mary Poppins Returns to soar to great heights. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubCharles BramescoDec 12, 2018
It’s less heartwarming than heart-microwaving. Read full review
58
IndieWireDavid EhrlichDec 12, 2018
However refreshing the plotlessness and relative purity of Mary Poppins Returns might be, there’s a fine line between “nostalgic” and “out of touch” — between revisiting the past and living in denial of the present. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisDec 18, 2018
What’s odd here is how closely the new movie follows the original’s arc without ever capturing its bliss or tapping into its touching delicacy of feeling. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrDec 17, 2018
Mary Poppins Returns is torn between taking audiences back to their childhoods and treating them like children. You might have a good time but don’t be surprised if you feel a little dociousaliexpeisticfragicalirupus afterward. Read full review
50
The PlaylistRyan OliverDec 14, 2018
The greatest pitfall of Mary Poppins Returns isn’t the familiarity; it’s the cohesion, specifically the lack thereof. The narrative tissue is merely an excuse to set up each extravagant musical number, but the best musicals don’t forget to make the non-musical moments count. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleDec 14, 2018
The story doesn’t deliver. The songs are forgettable. And the magic never descends. Supposedly, Mary Poppins returns, but that’s not Mary. Emily Blunt stole somebody’s umbrella. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinDec 12, 2018
Mary Poppins Returns is a work of painstaking re-creation, and it’s full of nice touches. But it’s a bit of a dud. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithDec 12, 2018
For all of its slavish devotion to Mary Poppins, the sequel doesn't even seem to recognize its greatest attribute: its star. Read full review
50
UproxxVince ManciniDec 12, 2018
The frustrating thing about Mary Poppins Returns is that it’s constantly teasing us with something more. Read full review
50
VoxAlissa WilkinsonDec 12, 2018
It’s focused on pleasing fans of the original without taking any risks. It’s a pleasant, diverting, modestly ambitious film, fun for the whole family. But it leaves much to be desired, too. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternDec 20, 2018
I found this sequel deeply slumping, not to mention unnecessary, unmagical and often unfunny. The misuse of talent is what slumped me the most. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangDec 12, 2018
As it is, so much obvious care has been taken to reproduce and update the charms of the Robert Stevenson-directed original — to deliver an old-fashioned yet newfangled burst of family-friendly uplift — that Mary Poppins Returns winds up feeling both hyperactive and paralyzed. It sits there flailing on the screen, bright, gaudy and mirthless, tossing off strained bits of comic business and all but strangling itself with its own good cheer. Read full review
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