The Julie Andrews Sound Stage at The Walt Disney Studios

Richard Sherman of The Sherman Brothers, the dynamic musical brother duo that wrote songs such as “It’s a Small World”, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”, recalled a time when he would walk into Walt Disney’s office at the Burbank studios, and play piano for him. Often on late Friday evenings, Walt would request “the song”, and Richard could easily interpret exactly what he meant. Walt would stare out the window of his personal office and Richard would play “Feed the Birds” from 1964’s Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins was a pivotal film in Walt’s life, and for the studio, so hearing the music was therapeutic for him. Julie Andrews’ portrayal of Mary Poppins has been carried in the hearts of thousands for over 5 decades, and shows no sign of stopping. On August 2, 2001, a soundstage at The Walt Disney Studios was named after Julie, officially called “The Julie Andrews Soundstage”.

Bert, Mary Poppins, and the Banks children. Image from: https://movies.disney.com/mary-poppins

the burbank walt disney studios

The move to the Burbank studios was a symbol of great achievement for Walt and his team. Before moving to Burbank, they were in a space from 1926-1940 on 2725 Hyperion Avenue, the first official Walt Disney Studios. It was here that the team worked on the Alice Comedies, the creation of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse, the Silly Symphonies, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The site of the Hyperion studio has since been demolished, but has been paid homage to over several years, including with the construction and usage of the Hyperion Theater in California Adventure.

A couple of the buildings were relocated and repurposed from the old Hyperion studio and brought over to Burbank. One of which is the Hyperion Bungalow, and another was the “Shorts” building, which was where all of the early cartoons were made. It’s still in use today as a dedicated space for Disney short films. Many new buildings were constructed to act as administrative offices, inking and painting buildings, cutting buildings, a movie theatre, a commissary, and of course, soundstages. All of these surrounding buildings would support the main animation building which stands right in the center. The entire lot was designed by Kem Weber, in collaboration with Roy O. Disney. Kem Weber was a hugely successful designer and architect, best known for designing the Airline armchair, the Zephyr desk clock, and incredible modern vanity stools. Disney ordered 300 of the Airline armchairs just for the new studio.

Entrance of the Walt Disney Studios. Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Disney_studios_burbank_entrance_gate_buena_vista.jpg

Soundstage 2 at the Walt Disney Studios

There are currently 7 soundstages on the Walt Disney lot, of varying sizes, shapes, and features. Soundstage 1 remains the smallest stage at 11,000 square feet, equipped with a 2,4000 square foot underwater tank. Soundstage 2 has held the record as the largest stage on the Disney lot, standing at 30,099 square feet. That’s the equivalent to about 6.5 NBA basketball courts put together! Some of its features include floor hatches, and a 16,168 square foot pit that has been used several times for different movies.

The pit came as a result of the movie Armageddon (1998) filming on the stage and needing a proper space for the asteroid scenes. So, they dug out the pit, and rather than refilling the hole, they left it and covered it in case it could be useful again. In 2003, they uncovered it and filled the pit with water to use for the cave scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Other notable films that were filmed on that stage are 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Mary Poppins (1964), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), The Rocketeers (1991), Princess Diaries (2001), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), and much more.

Disney always uses their resources where they can. The huge space that the stage provided was the perfect spot to construct parts of the Mark Twain Riverboat for Disneyland. The space was also used for film testing for EPCOT’s World Showcase.

Exterior of Stage 2 by Loren Javier. Image from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenjavier/5678171958

The Triumphs of Mary Poppins

Despite all of the setting changes included within Mary Poppins (Cherry Tree Lane, the Banks’ home, Uncle Albert’s, the chimney rooftops, and more), every single scene was shot on Soundstage 2. The film was shot from June to September 1963, fit with a cast of talented actors. This movie was a struggle to put together, particularly for Walt, who fought back and forth for the rights of the story from original author Pamela (P.L) Travers. Depicted in Disney’s 2013 film Saving Mr. Banks, it shows how protective Travers was of the story and her characters. Walt felt a special connection to the book when he would read it to his daughters, and wanted to bring colour and life to the story. Travers eventually agreed to having the film made, with her as a consultant in the process, but was highly against adding any animation into it. Disney went ahead anyway with the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious sequence, and Travers was unhappy with the final result. On the other hand, audiences everywhere fell in love with the magical nanny and her adventures with the Banks. The casting of Julie Andrews was a risk, but a very educated one after Walt saw her in Camelot and knew she had the talent and essence of the character. It would be her very first movie she had ever worked on after being on stage all her life, but she was up for the challenge. In Julie’s second autobiography titled “Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years”, she recalls:

“A few days after our arrival, I went with Tony to the Walt Disney Studios, located in Burbank. Tony and I had visited there once before, and we were again struck by the sunny ease of the place; the shady trees and beautifully manicured lawns upon which people relaxed or played table tennis during their lunch hour. Neatly arranged bungalow offices, several large soundstages, construction sheds, and a main theater were dominated by a much larger three-story structure known as the Animation Building. Walt’s suite of offices was on the top floor, and below were airy workspaces where the artists and animators created their magic.”

— Julie Andrews (2019)

Mary Poppins was a huge success for the studio. At the 1965 Oscars, the film cleaned up, with Julie Andrews winning Best Actress in a Leading Role, Cotton Warburton winning Best Film Editing, Peter Ellenshaw, Hamilton Luske and Eustace Lycett taking home Best Special Visual Effects, and the Sherman Brothers winning Best Music Original Song for “Chim Chim Cheree”. The film has won 13 other awards since then, many recognizing Julie Andrews as a top up and coming lead film star. Mary Poppins remains a true classic, joining the National Film Registry in 2013. Julie has commended this film for being the start of a new life in cinema for her, and co-star Dick Van Dyke has looked back on his time as Bert very fondly.

Julie Andrews and the Sherman Brothers at the Oscars. Image from: https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1965

The Princess Diaries on soundstage 2

From October to December of the year 2000, Julie made a return to Soundstage 2 at the Walt Disney Studios to film the iconic film The Princess Diaries, starring Anne Hathaway. Julie was very fond of Anne right from their first meeting, saying she knew Anne would be a natural. This film has become one of Julie’s most recognizable roles, despite her major popularity as Poppins and Maria Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. The entire film was recorded on Soundstage 2, and was a very nostalgic time for Julie.

The Princess Diaries sequels, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, was a very significant film in Julie’s career. It was the first time she sang on camera since 1997, due to a botched throat surgery she had that left her voice weaker than ever before. Despite this unfortunate circumstance, she still blew the crew away with her singing, and the song “Your Crowning Glory” was talked about for a long time after the films release.

Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries. Image from: https://www.today.com/popculture/movies/julie-andrews-another-princess-diaries-film-late-rcna32689

The Official Rededication of The Julie Andrews Soundstage

With these 2 legendary films being tied to Soundstage 2, and all of the work Julie Andrews put in to make them both possible, it only made sense for Disney to rename Soundstage 2 to “The Julie Andrews Soundstage”. So, on August 2, 2001, Disney held a dedication ceremony in honour of Julie was held just outside of the stage. A plaque was unveiled that hangs inside the stage today, complete with her name, and the dates of the filming for Mary Poppins and The Princess Diaries. At the ceremony, the Disneyland Band played a few select hits from Mary Poppins, Richard Sherman and Dick Van Dyke joined in, and Roy E. Disney was there as well. Dick Van Dyke started his speech off by singing a few lines from “Jolly Holiday”.