The long-awaited Walt Disney film, featuring Tom Hanks as the controversial man himself, is getting closer and closer, and we’ve got some stills of Hanks in action as well as his co-stars, Emma Thompson, B.J Novak and Jason Schwartzman.

Tom Hanks Saving Mr. BanksTom Hanks as the controversial Walt Disney

Saving Mr. Banks, which is to be showcased at Disney's annual D23 Expo, follows the story of Mary Poppins’ journey from page to screen as Author P.L. Travers travels from London to Hollywood to see her novel change in front of her eyes. She didn’t want Disney to do whey they did with her creation; wasn’t what she had planned.

Click for the Saving Mr. Banks trailer

In the trailer we can see the conflict rising between Hank’s Walt Disney and Emma Thompson’s Travers. She is torn between letting the now multi-billion dollar corporation take her novel and put twinkles and sparkles on it until it’s no longer recognizable. Of course, we all know the end to this story.

Emma Thompson Saving Mr. BanksThompson portrays a disgruntled Travers

The film shifts back and forth between 1961 and 1907 as we see a young Travers grow up on a Queensland farm combined with her hard-nosed often-futile negotiations with Mr. Disney. In many ways it’s a sad story, especially considering that Travers has stated in real life that she’ll never lend her story to Disney ever again, such was her sour experience with the 1964 film.

Emma Thompson Tom Hanks Mr Banks

Although she expressed sincere disdain for Poppins, the film went on to become a national icon, defining 60s cinema and providing songs for generations upon generations to sing along to. It was financially successful, too, with a post-inflation box office total of over $102b to its name. For Travers, though, the animated sequences and songs proved too much, and stripped away a story that was very private to her.

Tom Hanks Jason Schwartzman and B.J NovakTom Hanks Jason Schwartzman and B.J Novak attempt a compromise

Saving Mr. Banks is getting a limited release on December 13th 2013, with a wider release happening a week later on the 20th. U.K audiences will have to wait until 2014 to see it, as it comes out on January 17th over there. The release date will place it right in the middle of Oscars season, and given the subject matter and the fact Hanks hasn’t been in that conversation for years now, we expect this untold true story to be in with a chance of a golden statuette come February 2014. More stills below.

Saving Mr BanksOur favorite moment from the trailer

Saving Mr Banks Emma Thompson
Paul Giamatti is a busy man

B.J Novak and Jason Schwarztman
B.J Novak and Jason Schwarztman provide a lot of comic relief