Saving Mr Banks: does it sugarcoat the Mary Poppins story? "She was a hellcat," says 87-year-old Sherman. She came to America to work with us in the studio for two weeks and it was like having two weeks of ulcers. She was a total nightmare. She was terrible to us. She didn't like our story ideas and she didn't want to do the movie. She didn't like all the happiness we were pouring into it. She particularly disliked the songs and positively hated the idea of animated penguins and animals being part of the story, he said. She also objected to Americanisms like "freshen up" and "let's go fly a kite" in the script and was adamant that Mary Poppins would never have stooped to a romance with a Cockney chimney sweep (played in the original movie by Dick Van Dyke). Emma Thompson, who portrays Travers, did considerable research, including listening to six hours of tapes of discussions between Travers, the Shermans and Walt Disney. "She went to America to collaborate but really wanted to sabotage the entire process," says the actress. She was awful to them. I listened to the tapes and asked myself, "Oh man, how did they deal with that?" It was very tough for them. Says Sherman: "I can't listen to the tapes. They make me ill. P.L. Travers was born in Australia and her father (played in the movie by Colin Farrell) was an impoverished alcoholic banker and the basis for the Mr. Banks character in her Mary Poppins book. He died when she was eight-years-old. After becoming an actress in Australia she moved to London and dedicated herself to writing. "She was an extraordinary woman and for the era she was born into she got a lot done," says Emma Thompson. She never married and never had anyone to look after her. She adopted a son but never had children of her own. Although P.L. Travers is the central character in Saving Mr. Banks the movie leaves out much of her bizarre background, including the fact she was a disciple of religious guru George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, whose teachings revolved around the belief that the moon feeds off the energy of dead human beings, and controls all our actions. "She was a difficult and troubled person, that's for sure," said Thompson. She was an artist who was in deep distress but she was groundbreaking in many ways. In Saving Mr. Banks, Disney melts Travers" heart, and they end up friends and allies. In reality, her heart stayed unsoftened and she was outspoken in her dislike for the movie, which she described as "an emotional shock which left me deeply disturbed." She said at the time: "I couldn't bear it---all that smiling. All fantasy and no magic. She also hated the billboards saying, "Walt Disney's Mary Poppins" and not "P.L. Travers's Mary Poppins." Although the movie depicts her smiling and applauding at the premiere, in reality she left in tears and refused to sell Disney the rights to any sequels. "After seeing the movie she told Walt Disney, "The animation will have to go,"" says Emma Thompson. "And he said, "Pamela, the ship has sailed," because by then he was over it and over her and didn't have to listen to her any more. He had a horrible time with her. P.L. Travers died in London in 1996 aged 96. Saving Mr Banks is released on November 29