Saving Mr. Banks - Filming Locations - Page 2


Saving Mr. Banks - Filming Locations

Page 2



0:13:32: The family walks through a field in Australia, to their new home on the Allora frontier.


This scene was shot at the Big Sky Movie Ranch,
at 4927 Bennett Road, in Simi Valley, CA.

That's about ten miles northwest of the San Fernando Valley,
and about a 40-mile drive from downtown L.A.

Movie ranches sprung up early around the periphery of Los Angeles, when Hollywood
production demanded open, rural scenery for Westerns and similar
movie sagas.

The movie ranches were close enough to L.A. that the studios could shoot there without
leaving town, yet gave the appearance of being out in farm country or the Old West.
There were dozens of them, many with permanent Western town sets.

But in this case, the family house itself was built on the property, for the movie.
From the looks of it, and a comparison to the photos & maps on their website,
it appears to have been shot near the ranch's School House set,
which is in the hills about half mile northwest of the entrance.


There are still quite a few movie ranches left around L.A., including Disney's own
Golden Oak Ranch.  At least two different ranches were used in this film.

Big Sky ranch has a long list of credits, including "Little House on the Prairie"
(the set of 'Walnut Grove' was built here),
"Carnivàle", "Bonanza",
"The Miracle Worker" and "Django Unchained".

(You can read more about the ranch here.)

Here is a Google StreetView of the ranch's entrance.

         




0:17:49:   P.L. Travers arrives at Disney Studios, where she meets the
songwriting team of the Sherman Brothers, and Walt Disney himself.


Since this film was made by Walt Disney Studios, it had a big advantage going in.
Instead of shooting at another studio and pretending it was Disney Studios, the
filmmakers were able to shoot at the actual place where history happened.

This is indeed Disney Studios, at 500 S. Buena Vista Street, in Burbank, CA.

The studio has more dramatic entrances off Riverside Drive, (where passersby
can glimpse a towering Sorcerer's hat), and off Alameda Avenue
(where you can spot a line of seven giant stone dwarfs).

But the entrance scene in this movie was filmed at the more modest entrance
to the studio, on the west side of the studio, at Buena Vista Street.

Other scenes in the movie were filmed throughout the Disney studio campus.



Here is a Google StreetView of the studio entrance.



         





0:32:09: As they turn down a winding road, that offers a particularly nice view of the Valley,
her limo driver, 'Ralph, remarks: "Beautiful, ain't it?"  To which Mrs. Travers offers a chilly
response: "If you like that sort of thing..."  The nonplussed Ralph replies, "I do."


A very similar scene plays out again later, on the same winding road, at 1:29:44, but
this time, having somewhat mellowed, the author remarks: "It is beautiful, isn't it?"


This was a tricky road to find.  From the view of the mountains, it was clear that this was
shot from a road up near the Mulholland crest line, looking north across the Valley.

So it seemed a simple task to find a winding road heading north off Mulholland,
especially given today's Google StreetView technology, and its ability to
show exactly what the view looks like from almost all of those roads.

However, I didn't count on another modern innovation, CGI, getting in the way.

Leave it to Disney to use CGI to enhance a simple street in the Valley - so much so that I
didn't recognize it when I first saw it.  Turns out, they digitally removed all of the street's
telephone poles, street signs, railings, etc., and then added extra grass, heightened the
color, and generally made the spot look much greener and prettier than it really is.

But with a little help from a friend (thanks, Chas), I realized they had tinkered with reality,
and I was able to match up enough of the surroundings to make a certain match.

This was shot at the top of Encino Hills Drive, where it leaves Mulholland Drive
and heads down the hill into the San Fernando Valley, in Encino, CA.

Here is a matching view looking back (southwest) on Encino Hills Drive,
compared to the shot from the movie of the limo making the same turn:

(Note the matching bushes on the hilltop, and the digitally-removed poles...)



And here is a matching Google StreetView of the street (minus the CGI):




         






0:48:50: In another flashback to the author's childhood, we see the main street of the frontier
town of
Allora, in Queensland, Australia.  The stuffy banker returns to his bank, only to
catch Pamela's father the middle of a loud, drunken rant.  He is almost fired on the spot,
saved only by the banker's sympathy for the innocent daughter.




This short scene was shot on the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot.

You may well have been on this street yourself, if you've ever ridden the Universal's tram tour.

This is the studio's "Six Points Texas" Western street set. It's located
next to the Old Mexico Street, and is just north of the "Jaws" lake.

 In the screencap above, the camera is looking northwest.
The "bank" is on the northeast side of the fake street.


         






0:50:43: There is a bittersweet childhood flashback scene of the author and
her alcoholic father sitting by a pond.  She eats an ice cream cone, while
he drinks from a flask, and talks to her about denying reality.




The same pond is seen again (at night, this time) at
1:14:32
...



...when her mother, driven to desperation by her husband's drinking, attempts suicide
by walking into the water - only to be stopped by her young daughter.




 
Both scenes were shot at the "Firestone Pond", at the
Firestone Movie Ranch at 35100 Anthony Rd, Agua Dulce, CA.

I have also heard this referred to as the Agua Dolce Movie Ranch

with the address given as a 34855 Petersen Road, in Agua Dulce, CA.

But I'm not sure what the relationship is, if any, between the two nearby ranches.


         


(Here is a photo of that pond, from the ranch's
website.)








1:19:17:  Walt drags Mrs. Travers to Disneyland, and virtually forces her to ride a carousel.

This is one location that needs no introduction to most readers.

But just for the sake of being thorough... this scene was shot at the
original
Disneyland at 1313 Harbor Blvd, in Anaheim, CA
(not in Orlando, or any of the other Disney parks).

And to break down the various scenes in the park:

Walt meets P.L. Travers in front of the Train Station just inside the park's main gate:     


He then escorts her (north) up Main Street USA.



They pass through Sleeping Beauty Castle (at the north end of Main Street):



and emerge in Fantasyland:



Where Walt convinces her to climb aboard a horse ("Jingles") on the King Arthur Carousel.

( The scene that somewhat echoes the famous animated carousel scene in "Mary Poppins". )



         




1:51:41: P.L. Travers returns to Los Angeles to attend the premiere of the movie "Mary Poppins":


This scene was filmed where the actual "Mary Poppins" premiere took place in August of 1964,
at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, in Hollywood.

Here is a matching Bing StreetSide view of the theatre.

         






1:58:03: Finally, the last shot takes us back where the movie started...



The  rose garden at the Los Angeles County Arboretum,
at 301 Baldwin Avenue, in Arcadia, CA

         






More "Saving Mr. Banks locations on page one, if you missed it!

         

The photos on this page are stills from "Saving Mr. Banks"
(which you can buy by clicking here) and are copyright Walt Disney Pictures.

The rest of the page is Copyright © 1999-2024-Gary Wayne / Seeing-Stars.com