Write a novel treatment for a remake of the movie The Shining. The cast and the plot are the same as the original movie, but as the family departs and embarks on its ill fated winter. we see Mary Poppins, descending from the sky in landing on the Overlook Lodge rather than with the Banks family of Cherry Tree Lane.
She joins the characters through their arrowing adventure. You are writing a treatment for a proposal for Netflix.
The Shining: A Mary Poppins Remake
A Netflix Miniseries Treatment
Genre: Psychological Horror / Fantasy
Logline: As Jack Torrance and his family arrive at the isolated Overlook Hotel for the winter, an unexpected guest descends from the sky—Mary Poppins. With her whimsical magic and cryptic charm, she becomes entangled in the Torrance family's unraveling minds, blurring the lines between fantasy and madness in ways even the hotel’s malevolent forces never expected.
Tone and Vision
This miniseries retains the psychological horror of The Shining but infuses it with the surreal charm of Mary Poppins. Much like the way the 1964 film offered whimsy and joy, this adaptation offers playful moments—until those moments take dark, eerie turns. With themes of suppressed trauma, addiction, and mental illness, the fusion of fantasy and psychological horror will create a new, genre-bending experience. The humor will remain dry and unsettling, with moments of levity that dissolve into dread. Think Being John Malkovich meets Hereditary.
Plot Summary
Episode 1 – “The Perfect Nanny”
Jack Torrance (played by [Lead Actor]) takes the job as winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, hoping to use the isolation to finish his writing. Alongside him are his wife Wendy (played by [Lead Actress]) and his young son Danny, who has the psychic ability known as "the Shining." As the family arrives and prepares for their long winter, a shadow appears over the sky—Mary Poppins (played by [Lead Actress]), landing gracefully on the hotel’s snow-covered roof. Her arrival is strange but oddly unchallenged. Wendy, eager for any help with Danny, welcomes her with open arms.
Mary Poppins is kind but cryptic. She offers to help with the family, though it is never clear why she came—especially to a place as cursed as the Overlook Hotel. Jack is wary of her from the start, and Danny senses she holds strange, otherworldly power.
Episode 2 – “Supercalifragilistic… Madness?”
As the days grow darker, the hotel’s supernatural forces start to emerge, drawing Jack further into madness. Mary Poppins appears unbothered by the hotel's strange happenings, almost as if she belongs there. In fact, when Danny encounters the ghostly twin girls in the hallway, Mary casually asks them to “stop pestering the boy.” With a snap of her fingers, the spirits disappear—but not before they smile knowingly at her.
She takes Danny on surreal “field trips” through the hotel—flying down staircases, painting imaginary doorways, and sliding through walls. Wendy is delighted to see Danny smiling for the first time in weeks, unaware that these magical moments are slowly unraveling reality for both mother and child. Meanwhile, Jack's resentment grows. He suspects Mary is turning his family against him, but every time he confronts her, she counters with unsettling sweetness.
Episode 3 – “A Spoonful of Poison”
The Overlook Hotel’s influence begins to escalate. Jack hallucinates past caretakers, including Delbert Grady, and grows obsessed with the idea that the only way to escape is through destruction. But Mary Poppins appears at the bar alongside the spectral bartender Lloyd, ordering a drink of her own. “Addiction is such a curious thing, isn’t it, Mr. Torrance?” she says with a sly smile, toasting to Jack’s unraveling.
Danny’s visions become darker, his Shining ability overwhelmed by the malevolent forces of the hotel—and, possibly, by Mary’s own mysterious magic. Are her whimsical tricks protecting Danny, or leading him deeper into danger? Mary seems almost amused by the ghosts, neither resisting nor encouraging them—hinting that her connection to the supernatural world runs deeper than she lets on.
Episode 4 – “Feed the Ghosts”
Jack’s descent into madness accelerates, and the hotel claims him fully. Mary Poppins becomes eerily omnipresent, singing strange, off-key lullabies as Jack succumbs to his worst instincts. In one chilling sequence, Mary and Jack dance in the gold ballroom, their reflections twisting grotesquely in the mirrored walls. She whispers, “It’s easier to go mad when you dance to the right tune.”
Meanwhile, Wendy grows desperate. She senses Mary’s presence is more than what she seems—an enigma that makes her question whether the governess is an ally or another force trying to destroy her family. Wendy tries to escape with Danny, but Mary playfully slows them down, turning snowy paths into merry-go-rounds and staircases into endless loops.
Episode 5 – “Let’s Go Break Things”
Mary Poppins reaches her full influence just as Jack’s madness peaks. With an eerie smile, she offers Danny a choice: “Wouldn’t it be easier if you stayed here forever? We could make our own world—just you, me, and your father.” Danny, confused and frightened, resists, but the hotel’s spirits pull him deeper into their clutches. Jack, now fully possessed, chases Wendy and Danny through the hotel with an axe.
In a chilling inversion of Mary’s usual charm, she floats beside Jack during the pursuit, humming a lullaby that distorts into a dirge. Her omnipotence over the world around her becomes undeniable. It’s not clear if she’s encouraging Jack—or simply observing, amused at the chaos unfolding.
Episode 6 – “A Clean Slate”
The final episode builds to the climax. Wendy and Danny barely escape Jack’s attack, fleeing through the hedge maze as a snowstorm rages. Jack freezes to death in the maze, his body trapped in time—but as Wendy and Danny stumble to safety, Mary Poppins reappears. She offers Wendy a strange, bittersweet smile. “Sometimes, my dear, all we can do is start over,” she says softly.
In the final moments, Mary Poppins departs just as mysteriously as she arrived, leaving the surviving Torrances to wonder whether she was a guardian, a trickster, or something far more dangerous. As she floats away over the snow-capped mountains, humming a haunting lullaby, the camera lingers on the Overlook Hotel—and the ghosts inside it—implying that some forces are beyond even Mary Poppins' control.
Themes and Interpretation
This version of The Shining explores the intersection of fantasy and madness, using Mary Poppins as a metaphor for denial, repression, and escapism. The story delves into the idea that even magic cannot erase trauma—it can only paper over it, just as Jack’s drinking and isolation can never truly help him escape his demons. Mary Poppins, with her enigmatic presence, embodies the duality of comfort and destruction, offering both refuge and temptation to those she "helps."
Through its surrealist tone and genre-blending narrative, the miniseries asks: Is Mary Poppins a savior, or is she simply another monster? And is the Torrance family doomed because of the Overlook Hotel, or were they doomed long before they arrived?
Format and Style
- 6 Episodes, 50-60 minutes each
- The series combines the visual opulence of classic fantasy with the grim, claustrophobic atmosphere of psychological horror.
- Director Inspiration: Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite), Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House), and Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel) for stylized storytelling.
- Target Audience: Fans of genre mashups, horror enthusiasts, and lovers of dark, whimsical fantasy.
Closing Hook
This retelling offers a twisted blend of the familiar and the fantastical, leaving audiences questioning what lies beyond the veil of sanity—and whether Mary Poppins was ever truly a hero after all. With Netflix’s audience drawn to unique takes on classic stories, The Shining: A Mary Poppins Remake has the potential to become an iconic, meme-worthy cult hit.
