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50 free Mary Poppins trivia questions with answers. Walt Disney chased the rights to Mary Poppins for more than twenty years, and the author hated the result. This Mary Poppins trivia quiz covers the whole story: Julie Andrews's Oscar-winning debut after losing My Fair Lady, Dick Van Dyke's infamous accent and secret second role, the Sherman Brothers' songs, Uncle Albert on the ceiling, Admiral Boom's cannon, the tuppence that started a bank run, the sodium-vapor penguins and the thirteen Academy Award nominations. It also follows the story off screen and onward: P. L. Travers's conditions for the Cameron Mackintosh musical, Bristol and Broadway, Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in Saving Mr. Banks, and Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep and a desk-dancing Van Dyke in Mary Poppins Returns. About a third of the questions are for anyone who grew up with the film, a third for real fans, and the rest for those who know who dubbed the geese. Every answer is checked against a cited source shown under the question.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Mary Poppins (1964) was the feature-film debut of which actress?
Julie Andrews
She had just been passed over for the My Fair Lady film, a role she originated on Broadway, and was three months pregnant when Disney approached her.
Q 02Who wrote the songs for Mary Poppins?
The Sherman Brothers
Richard and Robert Sherman also suggested moving the story from the 1930s to the Edwardian era.
Q 03Who directed the 1964 film?
Robert Stevenson
Walt produced; the film was shot entirely at the Burbank studio against painted London backdrops.
Q 04The 1964 film was based mainly on which of the Mary Poppins books?
The first novel
P. L. Travers first refused Disney the rights in 1938 and held out for more than 20 years.
Q 05In what year did Walt Disney finally secure the film rights?
1961
Travers won script-approval rights in the deal and was billed as the film's consultant.
Q 06What did Travers hate most about the finished film, ruling out any further adaptations?
The use of animation
She also felt neither Andrews nor Van Dyke was right for the leads, according to Van Dyke.
Q 07How many Academy Award nominations did Mary Poppins receive?
Thirteen
A record for any Disney film, including Best Picture; it won five.
Q 08Which song won the Oscar for Best Original Song?
'Chim Chim Cher-ee'
The other wins were Best Actress, Film Editing, Original Score and Visual Effects.
Q 09In what year is the film set?
1910
Edwardian London, with Mrs. Banks fresh from a suffragette rally in the opening scene.
Q 10What are the names of the Banks children?
Jane and Michael
Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber played them; Dotrice cameos in Mary Poppins Returns.
Q 11What is Mr. Banks's first name?
George
David Tomlinson also voiced Mary's talking parrot umbrella and Admiral Boom's first mate.
Q 12Mrs. Banks was originally to be called Cynthia. What name did she get instead, at Travers's request?
Winifred
Travers thought it sounded more English; Glynis Johns plays her.
Q 13How many different jobs does Bert have during the film?
At least four
One-man band, chalk artist, chimney sweep and kite seller.
Q 14Which second role does Dick Van Dyke play, under an anagram credit?
Q 21What innovative technique put live actors among the animated penguins?
The sodium vapor process
Actors were filmed against a white screen lit yellow by sodium lamps; it won the film its Visual Effects Oscar.
Q 22Who sang the three Cockney geese in 'Jolly Holiday'?
Marni Nixon
The famous ghost singer later dubbed Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, the role Andrews had lost.
Q 23Where did Mary Poppins premiere on August 27, 1964?
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
It became the highest-grossing film of 1964 in the U.S. and, at the time, Disney's biggest ever.
Mr. Dawes Sr.
The credits list 'Navckid Keyd', which unscrambles on screen to Dick Van Dyke.
Q 15Where did Dick Van Dyke's Cockney accent rank in Empire magazine's 2003 poll of worst film accents?
#2
He later told BAFTA he wanted to apologise for 'the most atrocious cockney accent in the history of cinema'.
Q 16Why does Uncle Albert float up to the ceiling?
He cannot stop laughing
Ed Wynn plays him; sadness brings him back down again.
Q 17What does the eccentric neighbour Admiral Boom fire from his roof twice a day?
A cannon
At 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., with his first mate Mr. Binnacle.
Q 18Where does the Bird Woman sell her breadcrumbs?
On the steps of St Paul's
Jane Darwell's voice was too soft, so Robert Sherman dubbed her only line: 'Feed the birds, tuppence a bag.'
Q 19How much money does Michael refuse to hand over at the bank, sparking a run?
Tuppence
Old Mr. Dawes snatches the coins; other customers overhear and demand their own money back.
Q 20What is the full name of the institution where Mr. Banks works?
Dawes Tomes Mousley Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary
The song 'Fidelity Fiduciary Bank' takes its name from the last three words.
Q 24Roughly how much did the film gross worldwide over its theatrical lifetime?
$103 million
Its original run earned $44 million in rentals alone.
Q 25Which actress beat Andrews to the film role of Eliza Doolittle, only to lose to her at the Golden Globes?
Audrey Hepburn
Andrews then took the Best Actress Oscar; Hepburn was not even nominated.
Q 26Which of these was NOT considered for the role of Bert?
Frank Sinatra
Disney found Van Dyke on The Dick Van Dyke Show and thought him too young until a screen test.
Q 27According to Disney, who made him promise to film the Mary Poppins books?
His daughters
The story is the emotional core of Saving Mr. Banks.
Q 28Which stage producer got Travers's grudging permission for a musical in the 1990s?
Cameron Mackintosh
Her conditions: only English-born writers, and nobody from the film production directly involved.
Q 29Who wrote the book of the stage musical?
Julian Fellowes
The Downton Abbey creator was chosen for his grasp of Edwardian class niceties; Stiles and Drewe added new songs like 'Practically Perfect'.
Q 30Where did the stage musical have its world premiere in September 2004?
The Bristol Hippodrome
It moved to the Prince Edward Theatre that December, the only Disney musical to premiere in the UK.