'Mary Poppins Returns' to release in India on Jan 4

Mumbai: Disney is set to release "Mary Poppins Returns" in India on January 4.

The new sequel to Disney's 1964 film "Mary Poppins" has Emily Blunt stepping into the shoes of veteran actor Julie Andrews as the prim and proper nanny with magical skills.

The film, directed by Rob Marshall, is based in 1930s Depression-era London 24 years after the original was set.

When the family suffers a personal loss, Mary Poppins magically re-enters their lives and with Jack's (Lin-Manuel Miranda) help, brings joy and wonder back into their home.

The director said he feels honoured to be approached by Disney to direct the sequel.

"This is a brand new original film musical from top to bottom, which is very rare, and it is a wonderful opportunity to create something specifically for the screen.

"'Mary Poppins' was the first film I saw as a



child and it opened my mind up to movies and to the love of musicals and adventure and fantasy in film. But this film isn't just for children... It's for the child in all of us," Marshall said in a statement.

Ben Whishaw stars as Michael Banks and Emily Mortimer as Jane Banks - the eldest children of the Banks family.

The film, which introduces three new Banks children, played by Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh and newcomer Joel Dawson, also features Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury. Van Dyke is the only actor from the original to return, portraying the son of one of his original characters.

The film is produced by Marshall, John DeLuca and Marc Platt.

The screenplay is by David Magee based on "The Mary Poppins Stories" by PL Travers with Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman writing all new songs and Shaiman composing an original score.