The Boys

I don't know about the previous reviewer, but what possibly could have been done better than this superb documentary? Lifeless it isn't, clumsy it isn't. It's touching, and filled with many fascinating insights. The use of seeing parallel home movies by the brothers during their estrangement was an inspired one. It's very well done, people. It does exactly what it sets out to do, and then some. I hope people will seek out this film and see for themselves just how good it is.

For a Disney release, it's also interesting to see non-Disney films incorporated to give a more balanced look at the brothers' film scores. For baby boomers, this film will be an added pleasure, since so much of this music here most likely was a strong presence during their growing years. Don't miss this one!

"The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story" is a documentary about Robert and Richard Sherman, the legendary songwriting brothers who composed the music for such films as "The Jungle Book," "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "Bednobs and Broomsticks" and their indisputable masterpiece "Mary Poppins," which features one of the finest scores ever written for an original movie musical.

Though "The Boys" was produced and distributed by The Disney Studios - for whom the duo worked for many years – and was written and directed by their sons, Gregory V. and Jeff Sherman, this is no hagiography designed to provide a whitewashed account of its subject. On the contrary, it provides us with a warts-and-all look at the siblings who, while they could make great music together on a professional level, found it virtually impossible to harmonize on a personal one. In fact, their relationship was so strained that they essentially raised their families in isolation from one another (they even attended separate funeral receptions when their parents passed away) - and still today, the two men, even in the twilight of their lives, have yet to heal the breach that separates them.

What's interesting – and, frankly a little maddening - about the film is that we're never quite sure what it is that caused this rupture, mainly because the boys themselves seem unable to account for it (half the time they seem to be unaware it even exists). All we know is that, for decades in public, they were able to put on a happy face and maintain the fiction that they were every bit as close as brothers as they were as songwriters, while out of the limelight and to the awareness of those who knew them, they had drifted irrevocably apart.

Through interviews with their children, co-workers and admirers over the years, as well as with Bob and Dick themselves, the movie chronicles their childhood growing up in New York City, then Beverly Hills; their devotion and indebtedness to their songwriting father, Al Sherman; Robert's injury in World War II and the trauma of helping to liberate Dachau; their early years writing pop songs together and with others; their entry into composing for the movies with a song for "The Parent Trap." Then it's on to their years as the only songwriters lucky enough to be under contract to Disney; their close personal relationship with Walt himself; their Oscar-winning triumph with "Mary Poppins;" their eventual split with the studio after the death of Walt; their later work through the '70s and beyond; and their reunion at the London premiere of the stage version of "Poppins" in 2006.

Despite the fact that the rift between the two is never adequately explained, the movie provides a treasure-trove of information, clips and snippets from that period in which they produced their work. There are moments of ribald humor and wistful nostalgia as we relive the memories the Sherman boys have provided for those of us fortunate enough to have grown up on their songs (they were even responsible for that most maddeningly memorable of ditties, "It's a Small World"). Indeed, in the face of all the personal animosity between the two men, it's the music and the memories that ultimately "help the medicine go down" while watching "The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story."

Starting in 1961 with an inauspicious tune called "Strummin' Song" from Walt Disney's live-action "The Horsemasters", brothers Robert B. And Richard M. Sherman, sons of Russian-Jewish immigrants, became the in-house, go-to songwriters for the Disney Company. They turned out one melodious, deceptively simple ditty after another until they eventually hit upon Oscar gold with their score for "Mary Poppins". As it turns out, the fabulously talented Shermans are not unlike most siblings: there are rivalries between the two, personality differences which cause them to clash, and they're not really the best of friends. This incredibly moving documentary, directed by the duo's sons, Gregory and Jeff Sherman, was a valiant attempt to get Robert and Richard to reconcile their feelings for one another--and to acknowledge their extensive body of work, which is often unfairly criticized as being sappy or sugary. Indeed, it may seem a bit of a stretch to compare the Shermans to John Lennon and Paul McCartney...but after hearing such wonderful songs as "Feed the Birds" (Walt's personal favorite), "On the Front Porch" (Robert's favorite), "A Spoonful of Sugar", "Winnie the Pooh", and "It's a Small World", among others, their resume becomes a virtual collection of childhood memories. The Shermans deserved this valentine to their talents as sentimental and romantic songwriters par excellence, and the family story which plays out behind-the-scenes underscores their sunshiny output with realistic melancholy. It is quite an achievement. ***1/2 from ****

I'm always interested in movies about songwriters, being a huge fan of the Great American Songbook. This is the story of Bob and Dick Sherman who were in-house songwriters for Disney for a couple of decades. We have these guys to thank for the earworm "It's a Small World" along with the hit songs written for the grown-up mouseketeer Annette. Need I say more? I found the documentary engaging, mostly because I'm interested in the process of songwriting, and also for the human interest. These brothers, who worked closely together on the music, really had nothing at all in common, went their separate ways in their private life, so much so that their kids did not know their cousins. I don't find that hard to believe at all - plenty of brothers share very little of their lives. These two happened to be in business together, and they made it work.

Most interesting was the insight into the inner workings of Walt Disney studios and the profile of Walt. I enjoyed the story about when Walt Disney went to New York to see Julie Andrews in Camelot to check out whether she would be suitable for Mary Poppins. The rest is history.

Long story short, this is a doc that's worth seeing for audiences that are interested in songwriting and movie history, and perhaps for those for whom Supercalifragalisitc.... is a treasured part of their childhood. Myself, I'm not a fan of the Disney brand of musical of that era.

We were fortunate to see this film here in Toronto last night in advance of its (I think only) theatrical release. Even more fortunate was the fact that the two directors/sons and Dick Sherman were in attendance and did Q&A afterwards. Dick even had a piano and played some of the brothers' songs, explaining, among other things, how the music of "Spoonful of Sugar" was written as a reflection of the character of Mary Poppins. I'm a bit of a curmudgeon and attended with my 18-year old daughter. We both had tears in our eyes on several occasions during the film and afterwards. How two brothers who are so different can work so successfully together for so many decades and yet never see one another outside their working hours is a remarkable story, simply and lovingly told. The film also provides some interesting insights into the Disney studio during its heyday.