“Treguna Mekoides Tracorum Satis Dee”It’s been over 25 years since I last watched this and I can still remember the Substitutiary Locomotion spell.
One of the most rewatched VHS tapes in my house growing up, I became aware that this tale of an apprentice witch, three English moppets foisted upon her, and her sham of a professor is only mildly regarded these days, possibly due to its place in the reconstruction years following Walt Disney's death. It's not as though they didn't have much of the original team. Mary Poppins directors Robert Stevenson and Ward Kimball returned along with the Sherman brothers to pen more catchy-ass tunes. The fabulous David Tomlinson, so iconic in Poppins, delights as a tenth-rate shyster of dubious renown.
Supposedly, Lansbury disliked working on the project, yet she's such a pro that you really can't tell. She's effervescent as always and her singing couldn't be better. Interesting side note: early in her career, she sang in plenty of films and of course became a Broadway legend, yet she realized that she wasn't singing properly and took the necessary lessons to hone and manage her vocals, thereby staving off the possibility of blowing out her voice. Her decision to quit witchcraft is unfortunate. She would've been a shoo-in at Hogwarts. Could've hung out with her pal Maggie Smith. Oh, and her name is Eglantine? What, did they also ration decent names during WWII?
The film itself is episodic in nature, even though it's more successful (and famous) counterpart Mary Poppins was also merely a series of wondrous moments, but the lengthy runtime and relaxed pace is likely the cause for most viewers' complaints. Even though it's nice to see much of the original footage, the Portobello Road sequence gets tiring. Despite that aspect, I was once again enchanted by this sweet and frequently magical movie. There are several marvelous extended scenes, including the live-action/animated soccer match and a gangbusters finale with jaw-dropping special effects. I still can't quite figure out how they did all of those visual tricks and the film won a very deserved Oscar for Effects. Of course, their use of the word 'soccer' despite the English setting is a bit dubious, but you gotta appeal to that sweet, sweet American market, I suppose. The songs are great and Cosmic Creepers is a badass name for a cat.
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