$15.00
The untold story behind a beloved classic.
Making Mary Poppins opens the valise on the extraordinary true story behind one of the most cherished films ever made – and the two lesser-known songwriters whose melodies helped carry it into history.
Before Mary Poppins ever floated above Cherry Tree Lane, before chimneys became dance floors and umbrellas became instruments of destiny, Robert and Richard Sherman were two struggling songwriters in Los Angeles, searching for a sound, a future, and perhaps a bit of luck. In this vivid and deeply researched narrative, author and Disney historian Todd James Pierce follows the unlikely journey that brought the Sherman brothers to Walt Disney’s attention – and shows how their family history, musical gifts, and private struggles helped shape the film’s unforgettable songs and unexpected emotional power.
From their early novelty tunes to the creative tension of working with P. L. Travers and Walt Disney himself, the Sherman brothers’ story is filled with backstage intrigue, artistic risk, and the quiet triumph of talent meeting opportunity at precisely the right moment. Their work on Mary Poppins did more than launch their careers – it helped transform Disney’s live-action films and left its mark on an entire era of movie musicals.
Filled with never-before-published details and revealing portraits from behind the curtain, Making Mary Poppins is a story of art, ambition, resilience, and family – the bond between two brothers whose brilliance gave the world “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” “Feed the Birds,” and a kind of musical magic that still lingers in the air.
For Disney fans, film historians, and lovers of classic musicals, this is the definitive account of how one magical nanny came to life – and helped change Hollywood.
