Why the thought of Mary Poppins being bitten in half by a ferocious Tyrannasourous Rex would bring a smile to a sleeping Tom’s face, we may never know. Maybe he dreams of dinosaurs?

For what it’s worth, I think today’s incentive sketch turned out really sharp. Almost like a textbook reference, isn’t it? I’m also really pleased with how the Tyrannasourous Rex turned out in the third panel. I was a little scared to attempt a rendering that was an action shot. It’s been a while since I’ve try to draw something like that.

Honestly, though… what up and coming artist didn’t cut their teeth drawing a million dinosaurs growing up? I don’t know you about you, but I was facinated by the beasties. I used to love the Stegosaurous. And when Transformers came out with the Dinobots, I wasn’t in love with Grimlock like everyone else. Snarl was my man! Stego-Powah!

So is Steven Spielberg really chomping at the bit to do a remake of Mary Poppins? Would I lie to you? Apparently there has been a West End revival of the original musical in London and it’s been selling out since it opened in December of 2004. Spielberg wants to remake THIS version. Not the Disney version with Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and the dancing animated penguins.

Having not seen the London revival, I can’t judge whether this is a good idea or not. The plan is to bring the stage show to Broadway sometime this year. But I think it’s become newsworthy because Spielberg appears to be an unlikely fit. Especially when he dipped into similar territory with Hook and the Peter Pan mythos and came up empty handed.

Some people are impressed by Spielberg’s ability to alternate popcorn blockbusters with personal and poignant films. For every Jurassic Park, there is a Schindler’s List. For every War of the Worlds, there is a Munich.

I suppose it’s a smart strategy, but I count myself in the vocal minority that wishes sometimes that Spielberg would hang up the childish trappings and deliver more art. He obviously has the chops for it. Maybe he finds it displeasing. Maybe a film like Saving Priviate Ryan is made for guilty reasons. Or perhaps he makes films like Minority Report to retain clout in Hollywood. The further he goes, the more I wonder "Which filmmaker is the REAL Steven Spielberg?"

Or maybe at this stage of the game, keeping us guessing is his next deft move.