Mary Poppins

Characters

Mary Poppins

"Practically perfect in every way", she comes down from the clouds in response to the Banks childrens' advertisement for a nanny. Her personality can be abrasive at times.

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Mrs. Banks

Mrs. Winifred Banks is the wife of George Banks and mother of Jane and Michael. She is more fully developed in the movie than in the books. She also appears in the stage musical.

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The movie depicts her as a member of Emmeline Pankhurst's suffragette movement; a scatterbrained woman, who appears to neglect her children for her duties as a suffragette. Her main outfit is a blue and orange Edwardian-style dress with a white and blue sash that reads "Votes for Women" in black letters. She wears white gloves in the film (as did most Edwardian English women). Her song in the movie is "Sister Suffragette". The part was played by Glynis Johns.

Related Topics:
Emmeline Pankhurst - Suffragette - Edwardian - Sash - Gloves - Sister Suffragette - Glynis Johns

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Mrs. Banks' four "Votes for Women" sashes from the movie have all survived. One can be seen being "pulled out" of Richard M. Sherman's "special musicians' trunk" on the Musical Journey seen on the 2004 DVD release.

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Mr. Banks

George Banks is Mary Poppins' employer. He works at the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank in the City of London, and lives at 17 Cherry Tree Lane with his wife, Winifred, and their children. He is opposed to women's suffrage until the end of the film, when he kisses his wife and twirls her in the air. Most of the dramatic tension in the film involves his journey from disconnected family autocrat to fully engaged family man.

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He was played by David Tomlinson.

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The Banks children

Jane, Michael, John and Barbara. The last two are baby twins, who only appear in the books. Annabel is a younger child born in a later book, who also does not make a movie appearance.

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Bert

Bert is a jack-of-all-trades and Mary's closest normal friend who is notable in that he is completely accustomed to her magic.

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Minor characters

• Ellen, the maid
• The bird woman
• Mrs. Brill, the cook
• Admiral Boom and his assistant, Mr. Binnacle
• Katie Nanna, the disgruntled nanny who quit the Banks family.
• Robinson Ay, the manservant whose ineptitude and constant sleeping so irritates Mr. Banks. In Mary Poppins Comes Back it is suggested that he is the Dirty Rascal from the nursery rhyme King of the Castle. This character does not appear in the movie.