Leff, Leonard. "Review of The Spoken Scene: Film and the Romantic Imagination by Frank McConnell." Educational Theatre Journal. Vol. 28, No. 3. October 1976. Pg 440. 3 April 2008. <http://proxy.library.upenn.edu:5549/action/showArticle?doi=10.2307/3206452&Search=yes&term=poppins&term=mary&item=24&returnArticleService=showArticle&ttl=155&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DMary%2BPoppins;x%3D0;y%3D0>

    This article reviews Frank McConnell’s book, The Spoken Seen: Film and the Romantic Imagination.  The book covers many subjects under the umbrella of the problems of post-romantic writing in terms of reality, perception, meaning and consciousness.  McConnell cites film as the most meaningful and influential medium of post-romanticism.  He specifically discusses how film weaves dreams into reality to become a sort of counter-reality.  Film helps us to rediscover our world of reality, which somehow seems less real than the world of film.  Americans are on a constant quest for process and permanence, dreams and realities.
    Mary Poppins does exactly what McConnell speaks of by combining live action with animation.  This mixes the dream or fantasy world with reality.  Even though Mary Poppins, Bert and the children spend their “Jolly Holiday” in a chalk painting and riding animated horses, we feel as if what we are seeing is really taking place.  This method is similar to that used in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari where human beings walk around in front of painted scenery for dramatic effect.  In an ironic way, the combination of animation and live action in Mary Poppins makes the film more believable.  It also makes the film more enjoyable and adds to the timelessness of the film and its unique ability to use conventional and modern techniques. 

  "'Mary Poppins' Combines Live Action and Animation." Los Angeles Times. Dec 24, 1964. ProQuest Historical newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986). pg. C6

    This article discusses the unique use of live-action and animation on the same screen in Mary Poppins.  Disney employed this technique to make the story of Mary Poppins more believable and fantastical at the same time.  The technique was pioneered by Walt Disney in an earlier series called Alice in Cartoonland.  The combination of live-action and animation is most noticeable in the “Jolly Holiday” scene where Mary Poppins, Jane, Michael and Bert jump into a chalk-drawn picture.  They enter a fantasy world of painted backgrounds amidst cartoon characters filled with horse racing, carousels, and of course, Bert’s (Dick Van Dyke) rendition of “Jolly Holiday” complete with singing and dancing cartoon penguins.
    This article was published in the same year that Mary Poppins was released, and although the technique was entirely new at the time, it was still considered to be edgy and innovative.  The use of this technique shows the conservatism of Walt Disney on the one hand and his desire to create an idyllic world, but on the other hand it show cases new technologies and embraces modernity.  The combination of live-action and animation was a creative and unique use of technology to increase the believability of the story.