The year 1964 saw the release of one of the most popular films of all time from the Walt Disney stable in ‘Marry Poppins’. The film, which combined live-action and animation, starred Julie Andrews in the titular role of a magical nanny who visits a dysfunctional family in London and employs her unique brand of lifestyle to improve the family’s dynamic. Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, and Glynis Johns also featured in supporting roles. The film was shot entirely at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.
And just now the ink drawings that were produced by a costume designer before the filming of the 1964 movie began have come to public eye. One depicts Julie Andrews’ character with a long flowing skirt, holding her famous parrot-head umbrella in one hand and her carpet bag in the other.
Two more sketches show how the perfect nanny was to appear in the chalk painting ‘Jolly Holiday’ scenes, dressed in an Edwardian gown and bonnet and holding a parasol.
The images are conception drawings for ‘Mary Poppins’ for the big screen version of the PL Travers’ children’s books.
They were the work of Tony Walton, who was the costume designer for the Walt Disney musical film and who was married to Julie Andrews at the time. The costume department used them to create the outfits worn by Andrews.
After the filming Neva Rames, a member the costume department, kept the drawings as a memento. They are now being sold at auction for Ł1,000 each.
The sale takes place in Los Angeles on March 1.
In 2013, the studio revisited the popular character by way of a period film directed by John Lee Hancock from a screenplay written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. Centered on the development of the 1964 Walt Disney Studios film Mary Poppins, the film starred Emma Thompson as author P L Travers and Tom Hanks as filmmaker Walt Disney, with supporting performances from Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Bradley Whitford, Ruth Wilson, B. J. Novak, Rachel Griffiths, and Kathy Baker.