“George Banks will be honored.
George Banks will be redeemed.
George Banks and all he stands for will be saved —
Maybe not in life, but in imagination.
Because that’s what we storytellers do:
We restore order with imagination.
We instill hope, again and again and again.”
In the memorable film, Saving Mr. Banks, the character of Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) has just shared a series of painful memories to help author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) understand that producing a film version of her novel Mary Poppins (borne of her own painful family memories) would be meaningful not only to him, and to audiences everywhere — but also to her.
Walt Disney concludes his moving monologue with the lines above. I had to replay it several times when I first saw it. It is a remarkable moment in the film and a moment that likely resonates with anyone, but particularly with those of us who consider ourselves writers or artists.
Lisa Kirazian 