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| Taken on its own, Saving Mr. Banks is a pleasant, crowd-pleasing endeavor. For those with a soft spot for Mary Poppins, however, it's a treasure. |
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| (James Berardinelli, Reelviews) |
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| It was never going to be “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” Reserve that honor for the film that inspired it. But Saving Mr. Banks is still one of the best pictures of the year. |
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| (Roger Moore, Movie Nation) |
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| Speaking of good storytelling, Hancock knows a thing or two about that. Not only does the Blind Side director deftly navigate the double narrative of Saving Mr. Banks, but his film is also a visual treat. |
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| (Mike Scott, New Orleans Times-Picayune) |
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| Disney scholars may scoff that it’s not a warts-and-all portrayal of the struggle to bring Mary Poppins to the screen, but that seems almost churlish in light of the enthusiasm Hanks brings to the film, or the eventually melting icy facade Thompson puts up. |
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| (Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic) |
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| There’s charm and delight here, to be sure, but it is occasionally obscured by attempts to make it somehow darker, deeper, and more dramatic. |
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| (Kate Erbland, Film.com) |
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| A fascinating blend of brand extension and corporate history. |
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| (Jeff Baker, Portland Oregonian) |
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| Saving Mr. Banks, set in 1961, is smart, delightful. |
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| (Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer) |
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| The slick but moving Saving Mr. Banks transcends its corporate pedigree to become a great Disney movie about making a Disney movie. |
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| (Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News) |
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| Sentiment is at its heart. The legions who grew up on Disney's Mary Poppins will find it delightfully satisfying to hear snippets of its enormously catchy songs and watch its captivating creative journey. |
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| (Claudia Puig, USA Today) |
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| Saving Mr. Banks doesn’t always straddle its stories and time periods with the utmost grace. But the film — which John Lee Hancock directed from a script by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith — more than makes up for its occasionally unwieldy structure in telling a fascinating and ultimately deeply affecting story. |
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| (Ann Hornaday, Washington Post) |
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| The director is John Lee Hancock, who does what he did with The Blind Side, where he commandeered a true and jagged tale, tidied up the trauma, and made sure that everyone lived sappily ever after. Sandra Bullock carried the day then, and now Emma Thompson repeats the process. |
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| (Anthony Lane, New Yorker) |
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| This is not a simple story of an uptight English woman induced to loosen up by those freedom-lovin’ Yanks, but a delicate and brilliantly acted story of overcoming the past to embrace an uncertain future. Emma Thompson, in particular, is magic. |
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| (Helen O'Hara, Empire) |
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| Taken strictly on its own terms, Saving Mr. Banks works exceedingly well as mainstream entertainment. |
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| (Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter) |
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| It’s Thompson as the heroically unbiddable Travers who makes the most of it; her bravura performance effectively dominates the film. |
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| (David Gritten, Daily Telegraph) |
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| Saving Mr Banks might not be entirely accurate, but it is wholly engaging. |
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| (Brian Viner, Daily Mail) |
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, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell
