The Ultimate Walt Disney Company Performances Bracket -- Round Six, Day Two

Two English icons enter the thunderdome...

Listen, folks, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Today’s matchup is going to be tough. Or, at least, I imagine that today’s matchup is going to be tough. Could I be wrong? Could this be a blowout? I suppose so, but I am more likely expecting something fairly close, or at least something that inspires a few of you to make comments about how awful I am, history’s greatest monster…y’know, that kind of thing. So, anyway.

Why wait? Let’s start the vote!

(1) Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins vs. (2) Michael Caine, The Muppet Christmas Carol: As I alluded to in the subhed of this newsletter, two icons enter the thunderdome, but just one is going to leave. There’s no doubt — at least to me — that Julie Andrews and Michael Caine are among the finest actors of their generation. And they each portrayed an iconic literary character in the roles you’re voting on. Both Disney classics.

But. The photo this time is not a misdirect. (At least, the photo directly above the bolded matchup.) I would vote for Julie Andrews here, and I would only hesitate somewhat. Is it because I’ve loved Mary Poppins longer? (Only a little.) Is it because Julie Andrews got better songs to work with? (A fair amount.)

Both of the movies in question hinge on the lead performance working, and you could even argue that The Muppet Christmas Carol hinges more on Caine than Mary Poppins does on Andrews (if only because the latter film has so much aside from her, whereas the story of A Christmas Carol is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, so the person playing Scrooge better do it well). But for me, Julie Andrews is just too foundational a performer, and Mary Poppins too legendary, to ignore.

How do you vote?