MOVIE REVIEW: 'The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story'

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By Kelly Jane Torrance

George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter — the names bandied around for the title of Greatest American Songwriter are a familiar bunch. Less well-known are the handles of the Sherman Brothers. Yet their songs are just as memorable — maybe moreso.

As "Toy Story" director John Lasseter says in the documentary "The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story," once you hear a Sherman Brothers song, you remember it the rest of your life.

Julie Andrews, who as Mary Poppins sang some of the brothers' most unforgettable songs, points out, though, "So many people know the songs, but not many know the boys."

"The Boys" thus serves two purposes: It makes an unwitting but convincing case that the Sherman Brothers are on a level with those other storied names. And it tells a fascinating, heartbreaking story about how two men who brought so many people so much joy took no pleasure in each other's talented company.

Like many of the other great songwriters of the golden age of American popular music, the Sherman Brothers were the sons of Jewish immigrants. Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman also were the sons of a musician, Tin Pan Alley songwriter Al Sherman, who taught them: "Keep it singable, simple and sincere — and original."

They hadn't planned to follow in his footsteps, though. Bob planned to write the Great American Novel, while Dick wanted to write symphonies. Thank goodness they realized their talents lay elsewhere. Mouseketeer Annette Funicello made "Tall Paul" a hit, and soon the duo were the only songwriters Walt Disney had under contract. The trio seemed simpatico: Disney had them read P.L. Travers' "Mary Poppins," and they decided six chapters could be turned into a film; Disney had underlined the same six.

They worked on the score for 2½ years before discovering Disney didn't have the rights to the book, and Travers wasn't crazy about giving them to him. The men eventually won her over, and the Sherman Brothers would receive two Oscars each for their work on the film, which included the classic songs "Chim Chim Cher-ee," "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Let's Go Fly a Kite," Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and Disney's favorite, "Feed the Birds."

That's more memorable songs than many composers write in a lifetime. But in "The Boys," the hits come one after another: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"; "Winnie the Pooh"; "The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room"; Louis Prima's scat-sung classic from the "The Jungle Book," "I Wan'na Be Like You"; and the international brotherhood earworm "It's a Small World."

As Dick Van Dyke marvels, "Can you believe the output of those two gentlemen?"

These were all featured in children's movies or theme-park attractions, but don't mistake them for shallow ditties. "I didn't write kiddie songs," Bob says with absolutely no defensiveness. "I wrote songs for kiddies."