What do a charming nanny have in common with a clown who scares children to death? When we delve into the various nuances, it turns out that quite a lot. And when you add a few more facts established thanks to the popularity of the animated film “Monsters Inc.”, everything comes together too well and makes too much sense. But let’s first take a closer look at the profiles of our heroes and how different their motivations are.
Where did Mary Poppins come from?
Mary Poppins is the main character of a popular series of children’s books created by Pamela L. Travers in the 1930s – the first novel was published in 1934. Mary is originally not very nice or pretty, but she is quite vain, sarcastic, dry, very mysterious and takes great care of the Banks children. Thanks to her, the kids experience so many fantastic adventures that they almost fall in love with her. Because what isn’t happening there? Mary takes them, for example, to tea under the sea, to afternoon tea under the ceiling, to a visit to the sky circus or to a party under dandelions. Everyone travels around the world thanks to a magical compass, makes friends with a statue that came to life, plays with animals at a birthday party at the zoo, or goes Christmas shopping with a star named Maja.
Stories about a nanny with magical abilities captivated readers so much that in the early 1960s, Disney made a live-action film based on the novel with Julie Andrews in the main role, and later the plot was transferred to Broadway and other theaters. The main difference, however, is that the film’s Mary was a very loving, caring and sympathetic character, which earned her even greater sympathy from viewers. In the continuation of the classic 2018 Disney production, she was played by Emily Blunt, who stuck more closely to the source material, so she seemed unsympathetic to some viewers.
How Stephen King invented the world’s scariest clown
Pennywise the Clown is a shape-shifting antagonist from Stephen King’s famous 1986 horror novel “It”. The writer confessed that he invented the character while thinking about what children fear most in the world and came to the conclusion that it must be a scary clown. In addition, he was also inspired by the crimes of the American serial killer John Gacy.
It should be emphasized that in fact Pennywise and the titular To are an ancient life form that came to Earth from the dark dimension of the Macroverse during the collision of our planet with an asteroid. Initially, the monster lay dormant underground for millions of years in the place where the town of Derry was eventually founded (this is where the writer set the action of his book). When the first settlers appeared in the area, the creature woke up and began to feed on human fear. To do this, he turns into what his victims fear the most – most often, it is Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Its feeding cycle lasts a year, and then the creature goes back to sleep, only to wake up after 27 years and find new victims. He likes to hunt children the most, because it is easier for him to tease out their fears, and it is harder for him to scare adults, especially once he takes on a physical form. He can also manipulate weak-minded people and force them to do his bidding.
The first film based on King’s book was made in 1990, but the 2017 film adaptation became a real hit and a cultural phenomenon. “It”, starring Bill Skarsgård as the titular monster, became one of the highest-grossing and most awarded horror films, and the production had great reviews. Two years later, the sequel “It – Chapter 2” was released. It was around the time of the premiere of the second of these films that he described his concept on the website, which combines Mary Poppins and Pennywise the clown. Please note that its concept contains potential spoilers from the plot of the films “Mary Poppins Returns”, “It Chapter 2”, as well as the animated film “Monsters Inc.”
Are Mary Poppins and Pennywise the same species?
Both Mary Poppins and Pennywise return to the same place at similar intervals – in the latest Disney film, the nanny appears at 17 Cherry Street in London after 25 years, and the shape-shifting clown returns to Derry every 27 years. They show up to energize a new group of kids, but they both tend to choose people they met on their previous visit. In the case of the nanny, it is the Banks family and its subsequent generations who have a particular penchant for persecuting members of the Losers’ Club.
Nanny is able to obtain more energy for 25 years from a smaller group of children than Pennywise returns every 27 years. Why? Well, as viewers of the Disney animation “Monsters Inc.” know perfectly well, children’s laughter and joy produce 10 times more energy than fear and screaming. Therefore, instead of scaring the children, the monsters began to entertain and amuse them, thanks to which they managed to avert the energy crisis in their world.
When Mary and Pennywise return, each time they distract a child named George from the rest of his siblings using a paper toy, with which they also appear: in the case of Nanny it is a kite, the clown uses a paper boat that falls into the canal. Both the nanny and the shape-shifting killer have powers that allow them to exploit what is in the children’s minds: the caregiver draws on their imaginations and dreams, which materializes their fears and anxieties. It is worth noting that Mary Poppins has a living mirror image of herself that can function on her own, in “It – Chapter 2” it is revealed that Pennywise can do the same. Mary and To have a similar weakness for singing and dancing, which isn’t strange for a nanny, but looks rather unusual coming from a murderous monster. Yet Pennywise sings for Beverly in the first part and dances for Richie in the second.
Pennywise has a particular fondness for the old English nursery rhyme “Oranges and Lemons”, which tells the story of old London (the oldest recorded version of the song dates back to 1744). Interestingly, the last stanza, loosely translated, sounds something like this: “Here’s a candle that will light next to your bed, there’s an ax that will cut off your head, chop chop, the last man has fallen.” The love for this song may indicate that Pennywise not only knows about the existence of Mary Poppins, but is also fully aware of where she lives and what she does.
Of course, the parents do not believe any of the children’s stories about unnatural adventures. Another thing is the fact that kids fighting a murderous clown forget about the terrifying fight for many years. Their memories only return when Pennywise wakes up to feed again. Similarly, in the case of the children of the Banks family, all memories of their nurse’s extraordinary skills disappear from their minds, they only remember Mary as their nanny. And at the very end of “Mary Poppins Returns” everyone catches the balloons and flies away with them. And what else do we associate Pennywise with? With a red balloon that he shows up with from time to time. The author of the concept proposes that Disney and Stephen King cooperate to create a film in which the perfect nanny defeats the terrible clown from Derry.
Viewers and readers react quite enthusiastically to the concept and propose additional interpretations. In one of them, Mary and To are siblings, but she was her parents’ favorite and Pennywise is the black sheep of the family. Others analyze the time frame and suggest that since the action of the Mary Poppins novel takes place around 1910, while King’s story begins in the 1980s, it may even be the same character, only after a very bad experience. This concept, however, can be rejected, because the presence of Pennywise in the same place in the USA is evidenced by local chronicles describing the mysterious disappearances of the first settlers from Derry around 1740.
Several other people indicate that Nanny McPhee, a character based on the heroine from the book series “Nurse Matilda” by Christianna Brand, may potentially be related to them. This character also appeared in the “The Nanny” series, starring Emma Thompson. Interestingly, this caregiver also has magical abilities, which she uses to resocialize her unruly charges, who are initially reluctant to her, but then fall more and more in love with her. Initially, the nanny is a caricatured old lady with warts, a big nose and funny teeth, but the more polite the children are, the prettier she becomes – when the kids are properly therapeutic, the nanny has to leave to help another family. Sounds suspiciously familiar, right?
Another interesting concept arises: Mary Poppins, like Doctor Who, is a Time Lord, which makes . As viewers of the cult British science fiction series know perfectly well, the Doctor usually takes various earthly companions on various missions, with whom he fights various enemies, helps various civilizations and people, and corrects various mistakes and injustices. The Doctor not only grows old, but also regenerates in a new form. As it happens, the BBC recently signed a deal for a new series of “Doctor Who”, which is available on the Disney+ platform. So maybe if Mary can’t fight the murderous clown, she’ll join the Doctor on one of his next adventures?
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
