Saving Mr. Banks Movie Cast, Plot and Everything to Know

An account of Walt Disney's twenty-year pursuit of the film rights to P.L. Travers' popular novel, Mary Poppins, and the testy partnership the upbeat filmmaker develops with the uptight author during the project's pre-production in 1961.

Plot

What's the story about?

Plot

When Walt Disney’s daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins,” he made them a promise—one that he didn’t realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation.

For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn’t budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp.

It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.

Cited as official plot version from disney.com

Biography Drama Family True Story

Top Cast

The lead cast starring in Saving Mr. Banks.

• 
  Tom Hanks

  ... Walt Disney

  The Phoenician Scheme, Here

• 
  Emma Thompson

  ... P.L. Travers

  Beauty and the Beast, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

• 
  Colin Farrell

  ... Goff

  A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, The Batman

• R
  Ruth Wilson

  ... Margaret

  Locke, The Woman in the Wall (series)

• R
  Rachel Griffiths

  ... Aunt Ellie

  Bring Him to Me, Step Up

• A
  Annie Buckley

  ... Young P.L. Travers

• B
  Bradley Whitford

  ... Don DaGradi

  The Call of the Wild, The Last Full Measure

• 
  Jason Schwartzman

  ... Richard Sherman

  Asteroid City, Between the Temples

• B
  B.J. Novak

  ... B.J. Sherman

  The Founder, The Amazing Spider-Man 2

• 
  Paul Giamatti

  ... Ralph

  Downton Abbey 3, The Little Prince

• K
  Kathy Baker

  ... Tommie

  Love Is Love Is Love, The Age Of Adaline

Crew Behind the Film

The Saving Mr. Banks behind-the-scenes crew and production team.

The film's director John Lee Hancock last directed Mr. Harrigan’s Phone and The Little Things. The film's writer Kelly Marcel last wrote Venom: The Last Dance and The Changeling (series).

Director

John Lee Hancock

Screenwriter

Kelly Marcel

Producers

Ian Collie
Alison Owen
Philip Steuer

Production Details

What we know about the Saving Mr. Banks movie production.

Key Facts

• The script made the 2011 Black List. This marks the first time Walt Disney (the person) has ever been depicted in a dramatic film.

Production Updates for Saving Mr. Banks

Apr 2013

Completed

Changed Saving Mr. Banks movie production status. MPAA rating announced; assumed completed.

Sep 2012

Production

Changed the movie production status to Production. Now shooting; shooting entirely in the Los Angeles area, with key locations to include Disneyland in Anaheim and the Disney Studios in Burbank. Filming will conclude around Thanksgiving, 2012.

Jun 2012

Pre-Production

Changed the movie production status to Pre-Production. Disney is eyeing a fall shoot in Los Angeles.

Feb 2012

Development

Changed the movie production status to Development. The movie is likely in scripting, budgeting, or stuck in "development hell."

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Additional Information

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Watch official Saving Mr. Banks movie trailers and clips.

Questions

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