MARY POPPINS - the supercalifragulous visual effects of a Disney favourite

Time for another of my all time favourite films, both in visual effects technique and in sheer timeless entertainment value.  "MARY POPPINS" as everyone in the known world will be aware was the sensational box office super hit that Walt Disney always knew it was going to be.  Everything falls into place with this ageless film - wonderful casting especially of a pretty much unknown Julie Andrews and the multi talented Dick Van Dyke (if we look past his 'Cockney dialect' which even he chuckles about to this day).  The pitch perfect score by Disney music maestros the Sherman brothers stands alone as one of the best of it's type and contributed so much to the films success over the decades with millions of people both young and old, it's hard to picture the film having half the popularity without the Sherman score.

I've always had fond memories of this picture, even from when I first saw it in the mid 60's when my dear old Grandad took me to see it (at the Starlight theatre in Papatoetoe) - though there was just one hinderence.  My Grandad had only one failing in his entire being, and sadly that was his propensity to walk out of movies before they had finished!!  It's not that he didn't like them, but he always felt that once he'd seen enough of the film, whatever it happened to be, he had gotten the general 'gist' of it, so why bother staying around!!  So MARY POPPINS was an unfinished symphony to this small boy I'm afraid.  It took years to catch the full movie for this writer, though it was worth the wait.

The large painting that starts the film - by matte artist Jim Fetherolf

This of course is a special effects blog and as such I am delighted to present the multitude of extraordinary photographic effects that won a well deserved Oscar in 1964.  From Peter Ellenshaws' dazzling mattes, Eustace Lycetts sodium travelling mattes, Hamilton Luskes' beautiful and extensive animation, Lee Dyers' jaw dropping effects animation and Bob Mattey's mechanical gags the film's a winner for me.  So lets take a journey back to 1964 and the soundstages in Burbank to one of the last centurys' most enduring classics.

Special photographic effects  Peter Ellenshaw and Eustace Lycett

Matte artists  Peter Ellenshaw, Jim Fetherolf, Constantine 'Deno' Ganakes and Alan Maley(?)

Optical cinematography Eustace Lycett, Art Cruickshank and Bob Broughton

Optical effects consultant  Ub Iwerks

Animation supervisor  Hamilton Luske

Key animators  Milt Kahl, Ollie Johnson, John Lounsberg, Hal Ambro, Frank Thomas, Ward Kimball, Eric Larsen, Cliff Nordberg, Jack Boyd and Joe Hale

Effects animation  Lee Dyer

Special mechanical effects  Robert A. Mattey, Danny Lee and Walter Stone

Special effects props Marcel Delgado

*Click on the pictures to see a large version.  Two clicks will produce an even bigger image.

London around the turn of the century as painted by Jim Fetherolf and shown as a long sweeping pan across the city. Bottom frame - Mary is a separate element rear projected into an Ellenshaw painting from which the camera pans downward and rests on a second rear projected element of Dick Van Dyke on a sidewalk.

Ellenshaw with Disney and seen painting the matte for the tilt down shot explained above.

If one can overlook my crude cut and; paste this is an invisible effects shot early on in the show where Bert waves up to the Colonel and we are treated to a tilt shot up an entirely painted building to a separate matted in section with the actor on the roof.

St Pauls dome has never looked as glorious as it does here from the brush of Peter Ellenshaw.  A magnificent matte that also is composited as a tilt down signature shot.  Almost the entire frame here is painted with only a small 'pocket' of live action and one shop window being real.

Before and after - the rooftop of the Colonel is all paint with only the tiniest of area being actual set.  Brilliant and invisible.

Mary drops on in!  Full frame Ellenshaw artwork with matted in Andrews.  The sky and cloud placement here is classic Ellenshaw and is so finely observed and may be found in many, many examples of Peters' matte and his gallery fine art over the decades.  Sublime!

Entering the bank - significant matte art ceiling, walls and tops of columns.

In the bank with father.  All paint except a limited area on the right side of the frame.  The shot cuts just before the actors walk through the matte line.

Our first encounter with 'The Bird Lady' (Jane Darwell) - a multi part composite - again a limited set with nothing much as dressing backed by a yellow screen upon which a matte painted St Pauls is added via Eustace Lycetts' sodium vapour travelling matte, and then a separate sodium matte of Matthew Garber added atop the existing composite.

One of my favourite effects sequences in the film, yet not a broad nor obvious one.  The two Banks' kids on the run through an entirely matte painted landscape of inner city London - simply magic and yet so bold to have so much of the frame(s) oil paint with next to no actual set.  The upper frame is ALL paint with the kids added by sodium matte as is the second frame - all paint.  Beautiful jaw dropping work.

One of two cameos by effects director Peter Ellensahw in this film - that's Peters' hand drawing on the pavement.  The jump into the Jolly Holiday segment is a Eustace Lycett reduction optical travelling matte.

The beauty of the sodium vapour travelling matte system is the ability to matte such fine objects as diaphanous material such as the veil on Marys' hat with perfect results and almost no annoying fringing.  Disney borrowed this technique from Rank Laboratories in England and it was to be a mainstay on almost all Disney features involving travelling mattes up until the late 70's often to exasperating levels where in some shows like "Herbie Rides Again" and "Island at the Top of the World" it is used in virtually hundreds of shots - often when it wasn't even really needed.  The bottom frame is Peter Ellenshaws' second cameo - this time as the voice of one of the penguin waiters.

The sodium vapour screen and set up - with one of the beautiful backgrounds by Al Dempster and Art Riley prior to the addition of Bert and Mary. For further wonderful examples of MARY POPPINS and other animated backgrounds go to http://animationbackgrounds.blogspot.com

A schematic of Rank's sodium vapour process as used by Disney for MARY POPPINS

Another example of the sodium process, with Ellenshaws' loose and impressionistic painted London combined on the optical printer by Bob Broughton.

Peter with his painting of the spires and smokey old London and the final shot.

Multi part composite of the rooftop dancers - a matte painted street view, dancers in front of a sodium screen and the finished combination as seen on screen.

More from the chimney sweep dance routine 'Step in Time' (a definite show stopper in all regards) - minimal set against yellow backing and substantial enhancements by the matte artist.

Another angle from 'Step in Time' - sky backing this time but still supplemented with invisible matte painted chimneys.

A trio of matte shots from the 'Step in Time' set piece with painted chimney stacks, wrought iron handrailings and all of London! 

More matte madness from the 'Step in Time' musical number - painted city block and rooftops, dancers on soundstage against yellow backing and the flawless result.

Now, as you'll have realised if you've read other pages on my blog not only do I love matte paintings and old style movie title cards but I also love traditional effects animation used to enhance other effects and MARY POPPINS is literally 'poppin' with them.  Absolutely magnificent cell animated effects abound in this film and as with all Disney shows the effects animation is as good as it gets.  The elaborate and thrilling fireworks 'battle' is a sight to behold and is all created in the Disney animation studio supervised by Lee Dyer.

Lots of delicate roto work and painstakingly drawn cells make this sequence a joy for the eyes (and the ears too in the 5.1 remix).  Lee Dyer had a long career with Disney and supervised the visual effects in "SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES" in 1983.  Other notable and recommended Disney films with exceptional, yet subtle in many case cell effects animation are "20'000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA" and "THE GNOME MOBILE".  It's tragic that Disneys' effects animation went stale later on in the 70s' with such abysmal examples as "THE BLACK HOLE" which features some of the poorest effects cell animation in the studio's history.

Some of Ellenshaws' pre-production paintings for the rooftop sequence and a completed matte comp at lower right.

The 'Feed the Birds' centerpiece - and the part of the film that Walt most loved and was personally connected to.  The camera starts at the top of St Pauls Cathedral and slowly travels down the building to settle on and zoom into the Bird Lady Jane Darwell who performs (though vocally dubbed) an emotional and haunting lullaby.  The entire sequence is a series of elaborate photographic effects with each portion seemlessly blended with soft dissolves and interfearence such as matted in pigeons and mist.   St Pauls is a full painting and black pigeons were doubled in white birds by using their negative image.  Darwell is inserted by means of rear projection into the bottom of the painting.

The conclusion of the lullaby with more camera moves back up the front of St Pauls using a different painting and more of the negative 'white' pigeons doubled in flying through the frame - this coupled with optical distortion on Lycetts' optical printer produces a striking storybook effect that remains with the viewer for years .. well, this viewer anyway.

Mr Banks has second thoughts:  Another wonderful tilt down effect using substantial matte painted scenery - a revisit to an earlier identical shot, perhaps with the same painting touched up and printed darker or an entirely new painting.  Coupled with the Sherman brothers solemn, moving score this shot is narratively unforgettable as it is technically magnificent.

Mr Banks reflects...  one of several matte shots showing David Tomlinson on his lonely night time walk across London - all shot on minimal sets and completed using extensive and undetectable matte art.

A seemingly problematic matte line demarcation is in fact very hard to spot by even the most sophisticated viewer.

More from the same sequence - Mr Banks at the bank!

A trio of visual effects shots - top the 'Lets Go Fly a Kite' finale;  Mary departs - her job done; and another view from the earlier Chimney Sweep musical set piece - all featuring matte art and optical work.

The faces behind the visual effects - top left long time Disney matte painter Constantine Ganakes; top right optical cameraman Eustace Lycett; middle left matte artist Alan Maley (*I'm not 100% sure Maley was yet employed at Disney though he did start right around 1964); middle right is matte painter Jim Fetherolf and bottom is Peter Ellenshaw.  Maley died suddenly in 1995, Fetherolf in the early 70's, Lycett 2008 and Ellenshaw in 2007

above - two of Disneys' longest employees who added invaluably to the success of not just this film but practically all Disney productions both animated and live action - at left the colour photo is of Bob Broughton who ran the special optical effects unit under Eustace Lycett and who's tenure goes way back to "FANTASIA".  Bob was effects cameraman, matte cameraman and finally optical effects cameraman right up until "THE BLACK HOLE" in 1979.  The other gentleman seen in the b&w photo talking with Bob is veteran visionary effects man Ub Iwerks who's career with Disney goes back to the silent days. Broughton only passed away last year (2009) and Iwerks in 1971.

Preparing Mary for her grand entrance.

The inevitable and well deserved Academy Award for best special visual effects.  Peter and wife Bobbie at the Oscars;  actor Alain Delon passing the Oscars to Ellenshaw and Lycett; and a quiet moment on the set with Peter and Walt.

"chim chim cheree....a sweep is as lucky as lucky can be"