Mary Poppins, Then and Now

I dream I am watching a performance - as if it is a musical interlude at a Hollywood award show.

A young woman is dressed as Mary Poppins, on the right side of the stage, stands in front of a set depicting the store front of modern day movie theater, very mulitplex looking, with lots of contemporary-retro neon lights. She is singing “Chim chim-in-ey, chim chim-in-ey Chim chim cher-ee!” from the movie.

I don’t look at her too closely.

But then elderly Julie Andrews enters from the left side of the stage (audience perspective) in flowy white dignified older woman glam and sings a duet as herself with the young Mary Poppins.

I look more closely at the Mary and I realize she is a terrible “de-aged” image of Julie Andrews, almost unrecognizable as her, all her features

I realize this is Gen AI and I think how stupid it all is because there are already images of young Julie Andrews actually singing song available on film.