Mary Poppins Returns development hell since the release of the 1964 film. Walt Disney attempted to produce a sequel a year subsequent to the film's release, but was rejected by author P. L. Travers, who had openly dismissed Disney's film adaptation. In the late 1980s, then-chairman of Walt Disney Studios Jeffrey Katzenberg and vice-president of live-action production Martin Kaplan approached Travers with the idea of a sequel set years after the first film, with the Banks children now as adults and an older Mary Poppins with Julie Andrews reprising the role. Travers again rejected the proposed concept with the exception of Andrews' return.
Mary Poppins Opens the Door faintly make out Mary Poppins. They wave and she waves back to them. "Mary Poppins herself had flown away, but the gifts she had brought would remain for always." In 2004, Julie Andrews appeared in a live-action/animated 10-minute short film produced by DisneyToon Studios for the 40th Anniversary DVD release of "Mary Poppins". "The Cat That Looked at a King" was based on "Mary Poppins Opens the Door," and was the first project offered to The Answer Studio, which included former employees of Walt Disney Animation (Japan). As the film opens, two modern-day British children are looking at chalk drawings