'Saving Mr. Banks' Review Roundup: Emma Thompson Gets Oscar Buzz

This weekend, "Saving Mr. Banks" opens in limited-release attempting to garner Oscar traction.

The film, starring Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks, tells the story of author P. L. Travers as she reflects on her difficult childhood while meeting with filmmaker Walt Disney during production for the adaptation of her novel, "Mary Poppins."

The film is currently nominated for the SAG And Golden Globe for Best Actress and is expected to land an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Best Actress. The movie also opened at the FAI Film Festival and received positive word.

Ella Taylor from NPR gave the film a positive review and said, "Like the 'Mary Poppins' film Disney would eventually serve up, 'Saving Mr. Banks' is an affable, enjoyable spoonful of sugar that sweetens into palatability the sinus-clearing bite of the books - and the implacable iron lady who wrote them."

Peter Travers from the Rolling Stone gave the movie three stars out of four and wrote, "Thanks to Thompson and Hanks, this movie about the making of a movie hits the sweet spot. There's magic in it."

A.O Scott from the New York Times also gave a good review and said, "The best parts of 'Saving Mr. Banks' offer an embellished, tidied-up but nonetheless reasonably authentic glimpse of the Disney entertainment machine at work."

Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune also liked the film and wrote, "The sharper edges of the Disney/Travers relationship, well-documented by various sources, have been rounded off, but the actors suggest what they can, where they can."

"Saving Mr. Banks" also stars Colin Farrell, Jason Schwartzman, Ruth Wilson, and Paul Giamatti. Disney will distribute the film. The movie is rated PG-13 for thematic elements including some unsettling images.