Hi, everyone. And welcome back to your favorite segment Sound of Musicals. 欢迎回来【曲外之音】. Hi, Oliver.

Hello again.

So, we're gonna continue with our talk about Mary Poppins, the quintessential English nanny.

Of course, very British.

So, we've already walked you through the storyline. It's pretty simple, it's defensible, fantastical nanny dropped out of the sky, and then just changed the whole household and mate, I think gave the mom and dad some wake-up call, like what is most important thing in life.

Yeah, definitely the kids are kind of they've got absent parents, and they don't like the nannies that they keep being given, because they're too strict; or they don't get there the attention from the parents that they want, but Mary Poppins comes in and just changes everything.

I like the words you use, they're not bad parents, they're not abusive or anything. They're just absent.

Yeah, they care about their children, because they're taking the time to find a good nanny who will raise them correctly. Mr. Banks takes the children to the bank to show where he works. They focus on the wrong things, certainly, at the beginning of the movie.

One thing I have noticed since you're talking about Mr. Banks, because apart from Mary Poppins, obviously, and Mary Poppins’ friend all being very colorful, but Mr. Banks seems to be this really grey dud in the film, in the whole storyline, very isolated.

He does seem that way, yes. Mary Poppins and the children are sort of one side of it. His wife is part of the suffragette movement on the other.

And then there's Mr. Banks in the middle at the bank. So. Yeah.

And I think it's almost like he's hypnotized or brainwashed himself to feel like “look, bank is everything, this bank job is everything. And through discipline and efficiency, we somehow would find salvation and I have to run my family like the bank with discipline and efficiency.”

Yeah, that's why he keeps hiring these strict nannies who don't really understand what the children need. Mr. Banks is just trying to run everything properly for the most efficient outcome.

In a way, although children seem to be in the center stage like they seem to be the one who needed looking after, but Mary Poppins was not just inspiring the kids but also inspiring Mr. Banks.

Yeah, definitely. When Mr. Banks loses his job at the end of the movie or musical, and he takes the time to fly a kite with his children, and realizes what is important in his life. Only then does Mary Poppins decide it's time to leave. So the kids have been happy through the whole movie, but Mr. Banks when he gets happy, that's when she goes. Okay, now I’ve got it. Father, children, everyone's together, time to go.

Yeah, you mentioned happy, right? So I think underneath all of these song and dance, these magical scenarios, there is a deeper topic about what true happiness is. And are we losing sight of what is really important on our way to pursue so called happiness？

For example, when we are trying to chase after money, material gains, promotion, are we losing sight of what is truly important？

Yeah, certainly. Mr. Banks and the other people in the bank, when Mary Poppins... when Mr. Banks takes his children to the bank to see where he works. There's a whole song about Michael has a little bit of money. There's a whole song about give us your money. We'll look after it, everything will be great, you'll be happy.

And Michael's like no, I want my money. I don't want to put it in a bank. I want it. So, it's kind of showing the alternate happiness in a way, the difference between the childish happiness of I’ve got a little bit of money now which is fantastic. I can do something. To adult happiness of put it in a bank and watch numbers go higher, but don't use it.

But that is not even...you said adult happiness, but that's not even real happiness. That's probably just as you're growing up, you've been sort of brainwashed by the society that that is seeing the number on your bank account grow, that is how you can get happiness that has nothing to do with whether you truly feel joy in life or not.

Definitely the famous phrase kind of money can't buy you happiness fairly certain there's a Beatles song about things like you can't buy me love. It's all about money doesn't actually get what you want all the time it's important for life, but you shouldn't really focus your happiness on your world around just getting money.

Now, as we're moving from themes to music, I just want to add one more. I don't know if you still remember some of these characters like there was a chimney sweep. There was like this song chim chimney sweep.

Chim, chimney, chim, chimney. Yes, I remember, great song.

Yeah, that is also kind of like you are all like dressed in fancy suit, like Mr. Banks working in the bank, holding an important position, holding the power of money, materialistic gains.

Does that truly make you smarter than like a chimney sweep, who was just going up the chimney and enjoyed a view of London. Although he has no like social status like Mr. Banks, but he seems to know more about how to enjoy the world.

He certainly does seem a far happier character than Mr. Banks throughout the musical.

And I love the lyrics. It says, the chimney sweeps song says, okay, so here it says now as the letter of life has been strong, you may think a sweeps on the bottom most run, so you may think, because I’m chimney sweep, so I’m like the lowest the bottom of society, because I don't have money, though I spend me time in the ashes and smoke in this whole white world, there's no happier bloke, but I’m actually very, very happy.

I’m at the bottom of society. But I don't care, I’m having a great time.

Yeah, especially this bit, I think in a movie they obviously went to the rooftop, and they were seeing, they were sort of looking at the silk skyline of London this whole thing, I think that was really moving.

It was very nice for the characters of the children to see that their father has always taught them that they have to work hard, get money, be strict and that's how you be happy.

But then standing on a rooftop at night time with a strange man jumping up and down with a sweeping brush. That's another way to be happy in life. You don't have... he's got no money, he's not buying or selling anything there, but he is loving his life,

Yeah, the unadulterated happiness. Pure happiness.

Pure happiness, yeah.

Okay. Let's listen to this bit.

Okay. And so do you have any musical score that you like in Mary Poppins？

I think my favorite is probably the one most people know from this musical and the one most people struggle to say, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Yes.

Yes.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

I’ve been practicing all day.

Doesn't mean anything, does it?

No, it's absolute nonsense that word, it means nothing.

Yeah, it was... I love this bit, because it's this whole, I would say it adds sort of like the adds to the fantastical air always surrounding Mary Poppins. I think it's when she was with this friend and then they came up with this word.

And obviously the lyrics very long, but there was this bit saying so when the cat has got your tongue, there's no need for dismay, just summon up this word, and then you've got a lot to say. Haha.

Haha. It is a very good way of kind of just if you don't know what to say if you feel something, but you don't know the word for it, just make up anything and say it, express yourself, be happy. Why not? It's brilliant, it's great.

In Chinese translation, 有人把它翻译成人见人爱, 花见花开.

Sorry, that's the first time I’ve ever heard that in Chinese and it sounds just as difficult as it in the English.

Yeah, it's not really difficult. It just doesn't mean anything. It's just like so happy. You don't even know how to explain, how to... words like there's no words. There are no real words that exist in this world that can describe that feeling.

And then it says supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious, if you say it loud enough, you always sound precocious, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. If you want to do tongue twister try this song.

That is brilliant, it's a great song, it really is.

Okay. Let's listen to this tongue twister.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. All right. And I guess to wrap up this, I would like to ask you, Oliver, what is your take away from such a story such a musical film as Mary Poppins?

Every time I watch it, I kind of just come away thinking that it doesn't really matter where you are in life or what's happening in life. But if you look at things in a certain way, there's always something to make you happy, always something to be happy about some fun to be had, things like that.

And that's what I get from Mary Poppins every time I watch it.

I always feel like watching things like Mary Poppins. First of all, makes me really want a fantastical English nanny.

Of course, that as well.

Yeah. Second of all, it just reminds me of that. I forgot who said it. It's like dance like nobody's watching and love like you have never been hurt before, that sort of thing.

Yeah.

Just live life to the fullest.

Just go for it, if you want to do something, do it. Don't let anything stand in your way, including yourself, don't worry about anything, just go for it.

That's some really valuable lessons if you think about it.

It is nice. It is good.

All right. So on that note, we're gonna wrap up this episode, if you also like Mary Poppins, share in the comment section, what is your favorite piece of the music score? And also put down your request about which musical you want us to talk about next. And thank you, Oliver for coming to the studio again.

Thank you very much. I’m looking forward to the next time.

We'll see you next time. Bye.

Good bye.