who played jane and michael banks in mary poppins
Karen Dotrice Film historian Leonard Maltin said Dotrice "won over everyone" with her performance in The Three Lives of Thomasina,[3] and she was signed to play Jane Banks (along with once and future co-star Matthew Garber as her brother, Michael Banks) in Mary Poppins (1964). Disney's part-live-action, part-animation musical adaptation of the Poppins children's books by P. L. Travers starred David Tomlinson as a workaholic father and Glynis Johns as a suffragette mother who are too busy to spend much time with their children. Instead, they hire a nanny (Julie Andrews) who takes Jane and Michael on magical adventures designed to teach them—and their parents—about the importance of family. Poppins was Disney's biggest commercial success at the time[4] and won five Academy Awards, making its stars world-famous. Dotrice and Garber were praised for their natural screen presence; critic Bosley Crowther wrote, "the kids ... are just as they should be,"[5] while author Brian Sibley said, "these charming, delightful young people provided a wonderful centre for the film."[6]