A Mom Of Two Can’t Bring Herself To Tell Her Kids That Mary Poppins Isn’t Real

Sarah Whitley and her husband, Tom, let their two children have a movie night to watch Mary Poppins. Little did the couple know that the movie would greatly impact their kids, Theo and Immy. They immediately fell in love with the fictional character and expect her to visit soon.

The 1964 musical fantasy film features Julie Andrews playing an efficient, strict nanny with magical powers — she could slide up banisters, float mid-air, step into photos, talk to animals, and do other unusual things to the children’s delight. In the film, Mary takes the Banks’ children on many adventures, using a magical compass to travel around the world.

A note to the nanny

Sarah’s children were so impressed by the character that they felt they needed one at home. “But we don’t really need a nanny. You have a mammy and a daddy – and you go to nursery,” their mom persuaded. Theo, the five-year-old, gave an amusing response, “We don’t need a mammy if we have a nanny.”

RELATED: The Cast Of ‘Mary Poppins’ Then And Now 2023

The kids handed Sarah a note that read, “Please come to our house, Mary Poppins,” at which point she realized it would be heartbreaking for them to learn that Mary doesn’t actually exist. “Do you think she’ll come? I really hope she does,” Theo asked again with expectant eyes.

“I think she’s quite busy, but I’m sure she’ll love to see your letter,” their mom answered, with the three-year-old assuring confidently that Mary would “fly here with her umbrella and help us tidy the nursery with magic.”

‘Mary Poppins Returns’

The sequel to that classic Disney film, Mary Poppins Returns, premiered in November 2018 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, after which it was available for public viewing. In this follow-up, Mary revisits the Banks family decades later to “help the Banks siblings and Michael’s children through a difficult time in their lives,” according to IMDB.

“The Disney classic had been my favorite film growing up. I couldn’t resist dragging Tom to the cinema to see Mary Poppins Returns. We both loved it!” Sarah wrote. To please the kids, Sarah and her husband suggested, “half-jokingly,” that they get a Mary Poppins look alike to visit, but discarded the idea for a good reason: “They’ll expect her to do real magic.”