DVDizzy Forum

Sotiris wrote:Disney has posted the clip for A Cover Is Not the Book, the worst song in the film.

And we know exactly why you hate it.

Old Fish Tale wrote:And we know exactly why you hate it.

If you're referring to the fact that it has an annoying melody, gimmicky lyrics, anachronistic rapping that's poorly disguised as patter, the subpar singing talents of LMM, and its existence is completely gratuitous and unnecessary as it adds nothing to either plot or characterization, then yes, you do know!

I actually hated the song, too. It was the only bad song in the movie. Which is pretty sad, because the animated sequence is pretty beautiful.

Actually, "A Cover Is Not The Book" has a point in the plot by having Mary and Jack subtly telling the kids not to trust the outside of someone who would seem to be nice but ultimately turning out to be a very bad person with ulterior motives (Wilkins/The Wolf). Which is something Michael Banks doesn't understand until near the end of the movie where he finally sees Wilkins true colors. So it is in no way unnecessary in the context of the film, in fact IMO, NONE of the songs are pointless at all.

Quite honestly, this song, "Nowhere To Go But Up", "Trip a Little Light Fantastic", and "The Place Where The Lost Things Go" are my favorite songs that I play on loop from the soundtrack.

Musical Master wrote:Actually, "A Cover Is Not The Book" has a point in the plot by having Mary and Jack subtly telling the kids not to trust the outside of someone who would seem to be nice but ultimately turning out to be a very bad person with ulterior motives (Wilkins/The Wolf). Which is something Michael Banks doesn't understand until near the end of the movie where he finally sees Wilkins true colors. So it is in no way unnecessary in the context of the film, in fact IMO, NONE of the songs are pointless at all.

Thank you. I'm glad someone paid attention.

Even beyond the broader meaning and context of the song, I just really enjoyed it! It's a super fun dance number and the song itself is very catchy. It's easily one of my favorite songs from the new film. Surprised to hear all the dislike for it. Ironically enough, the song that I cared for least is the very one that was Oscar nominated.

Musical Master wrote:Actually, "A Cover Is Not The Book" has a point in the plot by having Mary and Jack subtly telling the kids not to trust the outside of someone who would seem to be nice but ultimately turning out to be a very bad person with ulterior motives.

That's a very flimsy excuse to justify a song that could have easily been replaced with a couple of line of dialogue. What's next? A super important song about not trusting strangers? Maybe they're saving that one for the sequel.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Responds to Oscars Best-Song Performance Shocker: ‘Truly Disappointing’
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/lin- ... 203118138/

“The 1st time I stayed up to watch the Oscars, it was because I LOVED The Little Mermaid & they were going to sing songs from the movie I loved on The Oscars,” the “Mary Poppins Returns” star tweeted. “If true, and Poppins’ song won’t be performed, truly disappointing. Hostless AND music-less? To quote Kendrick: Damn.”

Of course, he made this about himself again.

I liked the song "The Cover is Not the Book", I am just tired of that don't judge a book by it's cover message Beauty and the Beast covered perfectly. I prefer songs that tell me something new like "The Place Where Lost Things Go".

I gotta agree that "The Cover is Not The Book" isn't my favorite either. It's fine, but it's a clear pathway for them to get Lin to patter rap, which was actually a little jarring. And like Turning Turtle and Love to Laugh, the song only exists to try to do "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." And I didn't really care for the nude jokes either. But, the animation is of course stunning.

Sotiris wrote:Of course, he made this about himself again.

He actually made it about Emily. God, you're so biased.

I agree with those who consider "A Cover Is Not the Book" to be one of the movie's best songs. The song gave me an "Oliver!" vibe and I thought Blunt and Miranda played off each other extremely well. I also really enjoyed Miranda's patter section and found it a worthy successor to not only Dick van Dyke's in "Mary Poppins", but also what Robert Preston pulled off in "The Music Man."

estefan wrote:I agree with those who consider "A Cover Is Not the Book" to be one of the movie's best songs. The song gave me an "Oliver!" vibe and I thought Blunt and Miranda played off each other extremely well. I also really enjoyed Miranda's patter section and found it a worthy successor to not only Dick van Dyke's in "Mary Poppins", but also what Robert Preston pulled off in "The Music Man."

Even Meryl Streep in 'Into the Woods'. It's incredibly common. But because it was sung by Lin-Manuel Miranda, it was anachronistic.

Old Fish Tale wrote:

Sotiris wrote:Of course, he made this about himself again.

He actually made it about Emily. God, you're so biased.

What?! How exactly? Millions of others feel the same way Lin does for the reasons Lin has. I loved watching all of the performances. His post was completely innocent. I do have to agree with Old Fish Tale. It seems like you try to find ways to hate the guy.

Old Fish Tale wrote:God, you're so biased.

Right back at you! One can be as biased in favor of someone/something as they can be against them. You being so gung-ho about this project from the moment it was announced and attacking anyone who dared criticize it is proof of that.

disneyprincess11 wrote:His post was completely innocent. I do have to agree with Old Fish Tale. It seems like you try to find ways to hate the guy.

The problem isn't that he protested against Academy's decision but that he did it in a way that was centered around himself and his experiences. Emily wasn't even mentioned in his tweet. And why even do that in a public forum? He could have easily contacted people at the Academy and voiced his displeasure in private. But of course, he needed that spotlight again. Just like with his pseudo-inspirational "g'morning, g'night" tweets that people eat up in hordes which sustain his nice guy persona while giving him the attention he so desperately craves. I just think he's a self-centered, attention-seeking, narcissist who's nowhere near as talented as he (and the industry) believes to be. If that makes me a "hater", then so be it. As if all of you who criticize me never disliked a celebrity before.

Did Lin-Manuel sing 'The Place Where Lost Things Go' in the version of the film you saw? In mine, it was Emily.

Sotiris wrote: The problem isn't that he protested against Academy's decision but that he did it in a way that was centered around himself and his experiences. Emily wasn't even mentioned in his tweet. And why even do that in a public forum? He could have easily contacted people at the Academy and expressed his displeasure in private. But of course, he needed that spotlight again. Just like with his pseudo-inspirational "g'morning, g'night" tweets that people eat up in hordes that sustain his nice guy persona while giving him the attention he so desperately craves. I just think he's a self-centered, attention-seeking, narcissist that's nowhere near as talented as he (and the industry) believes he is. If that makes me a "hater", then so be it. As if all of you who criticize me never disliked a celebrity before.

Actually, that’s also the sense I have of him ever since he’s been involved in the film industry. His obvious lack of humility everytime he appears always shocked me since he left Broadway. I don’t know why he became so obviously obnoxious but that’s a shame I was expecting better from the guy but probably that is asking too much from him now.

I hope the not-so-great performance of “Mary Poppins Returns” at the Box Office will encourage Disney to cast a new actor to play a Bert-like character and kick Miranda out of the sequels’ projects if there are more to come.

I would think voicing how wrong you think something is a way to try and get many people to see how wrong it is and hopefully make change. So I think that aspect of Lin's post was good.

Sotiris wrote:Of course, he made this about himself again.

I'm not really a fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda (in fact, most often than not I want to banish his smug-ish face from existence), but I don't think it's something out of extraordinary for someone to talk about themselves on their own Twitter page. And "voicing his concerns in private" would do nothing for the songs. They would go "oh this guy isn't even part of the Academy". Making it public and more people aware of it is the best thing he could've done.