Summary
It’s been 60 years sinceMary Poppins, and Dick Van Dyke says he still hears criticism of the Cockney accent he used for the role of Bert, the lovable chimney sweep. Van Dyke provided Disney’s 1964 classic with some of its most memorable moments, offering charming comic relief, and getting in on great songs like “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” It all helpedMary Poppinstake off to a worldwide box office gross of $107 million, and a place as one ofDisney’smost beloved movies.
But Van Dyke’sMary Poppinsperformance also featured one of movie history’s most famous bad accents, a fact people still won’t let him forget even after 60 years, though the 98-year-old star doesn’t seem to mind, as he explained in a recent interview, where he also revealed the one group of people who don’t give him grief about his grasp of the Cockney way of speaking. Check out his remarks below (viaEW):
“I still get kidded about it. But it didn’t seem to harm anybody’s enjoyment of the movie. But I do get kidded about it. The people who don’t kid me are the British. They never mentioned it — and they’re the ones who should be making fun of me and don’t.”
A bad movie accent can be very distracting, as in the case ofBlood Diamond, where Leonardo DiCaprio’s inconsistent attempt at sounding like a Rhodesian mercenary detracted from an otherwise powerful film. Sometimes a bad accent can be weirdly charming, as is the case with Keanu Reeves inBram Stoker’s Dracula. Sometimes a movie just absorbs a bad accent, as happens inRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves, a film that remains entertaining despite Kevin Costner fighting a losing battle with sounding English.
Van Dyke’sMary PoppinsCockney voice creates an effect closest to Reeves’ terrible British accent inBram Stoker’s Dracula. It’s distracting, but weirdly becomes part of the character’s charm. The film is a family-friendly Disney fantasy anyway, so it barely matters that Van Dyke misses badly in his attempt to sound like an authentic London chimney sweep.
Mary Poppinsis available to watch on Disney+
Van Dyke has admitted that he himself was embarrassed by hisMary Poppinsaccent, but thankfully, he got a second chance to get it right in 2018’sMary Poppins Returns, where he made a brief cameo appearance, and did a better job sounding Cockney. As Van Dyke himself insists, the British don’t seem to mind his bad accent, and they are the only ones with reason to be offended. Had Van Dyke nailed his Cockney accent,Mary Poppinscould scarcely be more charming, and might actually be slightly less endearing.
Mary Poppins
Cast
Based on the classic book series by P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins stars Julie Andrews as the famous magical nanny, who arrives under mysterious means to look after the Banks children in early 1900s London. Considered one of Walt Disney’s crowning achievements, the film blends live-action and animation with whimsical storytelling and song and has been a staple children’s movie since its release in 1964.
