As someone who has loved past books by Todd James Pierce and listens to his Disney History Institute podcast weekly, I get pretty excited about any new books or articles he publishes. Having heard some of the material from his latest book in a multi-episode podcast, I was a little worried that his new book would not seem fresh to me. I am happy to report that this anxiety was needless.
Making Mary Poppins: The Sherman Brothers, Walt Disney, and the Creation of the Classic Film by Todd James Pierce provides an engaging and well-researched history of the film. The film’s story is not seen through the life of Walt Disney or Pamela Travers, but instead through the lives of his boys, Richard and Robert Sherman. Pierce begins and ends his story with the brothers, their father Al’s career as a professional songwriter, and the experiences that shaped two very different personalities. It was Al who saw the potential of his two adult sons and songwriting. One son, Robert (or Bob), was a World War II veteran who wanted to write novels. His other son, Richard (or Dick), was a young father and divorcee who dreamed of writing musical theater. With his introvert son Bob and his extrovert son Dick struggling to establish careers, Al challenged them to write a song together that an artist would be willing to purchase. After some early false starts, in 1958 their song “Tall Paul”, recorded by Annette Funicello, would become a hit!
Their continued collaboration with Funicello would garner the attention of Walt Disney Studios. The two met with Walt Disney to discuss potential work on the television show Zorro. But Disney’s focus was on a song that could be used in a future movie that would become The Parent Trap. This led to another meeting, and another assignment, and another meeting…until eventually the Brothers were hired full-time as studio songwriters, contributing to numerous projects across the studio. One of those projects was to provide potential songs for a movie based on Travers’ Mary Poppins, a book lacking a sequential plot fit for a movie. The two brothers would spend the next few years working and reworking songs, and help develop the plot of the film as it entered production. Pierce deviates from the brothers with the film in production as he turns his focus to other artists who worked on all aspects of the film. The book finishes with the successful premiere of the film, a night where young fans looking for stars labeled the two men as nobodies, invisible despite the enormous contributions they made in shepherding the story through music.
I had experienced some of this material in audio form on the Disney History Institute podcast. I enjoyed the storytelling in that format. But I worried that in book form it would feel like material that I had all heard before. However, that was not the case. Even without Pierce narrating the tale, I was still able to pull myself into this story. The Sherman Brothers and their often differing personalities are two characters that you want to cheer on as a reader, so while some of the story has been told before to me, on the page, I was still pulled in. Making Mary Poppins is one of those books that is a joy to read and engage with. It is both well-written and researched. The volume is also accessible for those who are tone deaf, like me! Often, I felt like I was reading the book that inspired Saving Mr. Banks, giving the audience the real story… although the movie was released years ago.
One of the aspects of the book that really stood out to me was the struggle. As a fan who largely knows of the Sherman Brothers well after they reached Disney Legend status, it is hard to imagine that they were not instant successes. In fact, their father may have seen them as grown adults without purpose. He was the parent of two men who were living together, only out of familial connections, and hitting rough patches in their lives. Even after he put them on a path to future success, they still were not instant successes despite Al’s career. The two had false starts on major recordings, had a somewhat unsuccessful publishing business, and had to work other jobs, including Bob as a flower arrangement instructor. This is a story not of overnight successes, but one could argue the American story of hard work and effort. It is a story that makes them even more relatable.
Making Mary Poppins: The Sherman Brothers, Walt Disney, and the Creation of the Classic Film by Todd James Pierce is easily one of my five favorite new Between Books of 2025. Pierce has again written an accessible and engaging story, built around the two figures who had in my opinion the most creative impact on Mary Poppins with little of the credit. Even those who have heard Pierce’s earlier audio-only version of some of this material will still find it feels fresh! It is a volume that only helps you feel even more admiration for Robert and Richard Sherman.
Review Copy Provided for Review
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