After 54 years, her return to the screen pretty much follows the template of the original: sweet children, withholding father, tuneful songs, eye-popping fantasies, and of course, the sassy nanny (Emily Blunt). The situations are Disney sweet (even when times are down), the performers are all fine (Blunt was acceptable, but not outstanding), the flights of imagination are enjoyable and the pleasant tunes feel stylistically like the originals without being memorable. The film hits all of the right notes, just not as wonderfully as the first time. While it’s not without charm and the story never lags, this follow-up doesn’t possess that special magic that made the original a classic.
(4 / 5)