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 (musical) he had a difficult childhood in which he was ignored by his parents, Jane and Michael's paternal grandparents, and was placed under the care of a fearsome nanny. This nanny, Miss Andrew, a character from the books, makes an appearance in the musical as the polar opposite of Mary Poppins, advocating "brimstone and treacle" instead of "a spoonful of sugar". Winifred Banks is no longer the suffragette of the film, but a former actress who is struggling to fulfill her husband's expectations of her. The character of Ellen the maid, played by Hermione Baddeley in the film, was cut entirely.