Julie Andrews Celebrates 'Poppins'

If you are looking for a last-minute Christmas gift, you can't go wrong with Julie Andrews. "Mary Poppins," one of the most beloved films of all times, was Andrew's film debut and she says it amazes her how well the film holds up after 40 years.

Entertainment contributor and People magazine senior editor Jess Cagle has all the details about a new special edition anniversary DVD of the movie in The Early Show's Home Theater.

"I cannot believe that it's 40 years since we started to make that movie," Andrews says. "The thing that staggers me is how good all the special effects are. Today, all the technology is so much easier and 40 years ago it wasn't as easy to do all this wonderful stuff. But it doesn't show. You don't see a single chink that doesn't work. There's not a crack in the armor anywhere. And Disney - they were so ahead of the times."

In the film, Andrews plays the practically perfect nanny Mary Poppins. The practically perfect movie was nominated for 13 Academy awards, winning five including Best Actress.

"I didn't expect it, I really didn't," Andrews says, "I remember distinctly that Ann Bancroft was nominated for film called 'The Pumpkin Eater' and in my estimation she was superb in it. I was convinced that she was going to win. She very sweetly came up and congratulated me afterwards. And I said, 'Well, I think it should have been yours.'"

The film contains many memorable scenes, and Andrews has a hard time choosing a favorite.

"I like so many of them," she says. "I love the Jolly Holiday sequence with all the penguins and things like that. And I also love the chimney sweep scene, which was probably the most fun to do."

But one of the film's most fun songs, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," wasn't the tongue twister many people might expect.

"Well I have fairly good diction to start with," Andrews says. "I was taught that good diction mattered, and so Supercal wasn't that hard to say. It's very fast and it was very energetic to try and do."

The film's 40th anniversay two-Disc DVD has many extra features that are very special to Andrews.

"I hadn't seen the movie for a long time," she says."And to sit side-by-side with Dick Van Dyke was a complete pleasure. And we reminisced and ooh'd and ah'd. And along with reminiscences we talk about the songs and the ones that stayed in and the ones that we lost along the way. We talk about Disney. We show outtakes and rehearsals footage that I had never seen."

And 40 years later, Andrews is still queen of family films.

"Well, it delights me," Andrews says. "I'm so hugely thrilled that I keep being allowed to play in all these wonderful sandboxes. A little child came up to me the other day with her mother. And her mother said, 'Do you recognize this lady?' And the child looked at me and she (the mother) said, 'Mary Poppins,' and the child said, 'Yeah.' And 'Sound of Music,' and the little girl said, 'Yeah.' And then she said, 'Princess Diaries,' and she went, 'Oh, cool.' And it just struck me so hilarious that I seem to have bookended my career with all these wonderful family movies."

Andrews has two other DVDs out for the holidays. She stars in the hit sequel "Princess Diaries 2" and she hosts and narrates a six-hour documentary called, "Broadway: The American Musical."