In the tradition of the original Mary Poppins film – and, indeed, the series of source novels – Mary Poppins Returns is a film that serves to highlight the way in which our patriarchal society damages men as well as women. As such, it is a gloriously feminist endeavour. Though it is a narrative sequel to the 1964 film, Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins Returns  does bear some striking, albeit updated, similarities to that beloved first movie. That being the case, it is important to consider this wider context when applying the female gaze to the project.

The source material for this now legendary character of cinema is a series of eight children’s novels, written by P.L Travers (the pen name of Helen Lyndon Goff), illustrated by Mary Shepard, and published between 1934 an...

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