"The Perfect Nanny" is a song from Walt Disney

Walt Disney

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...

's film Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins (film)

Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...

, and it is composed by Richard M. Sherman

Richard M. Sherman

Richard Morton Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical film with his brother Robert Bernard Sherman....

 and Robert B. Sherman

Robert B. Sherman

Robert Bernard Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical films with his brother Richard Morton Sherman...

. This song is heard at the beginning of the film, and its theme is heard through the film as a leitmotif

Leitmotif

A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...

 for the children. It is sung by the characters of Jane Banks (played by Karen Dotrice

Karen Dotrice

Karen Dotrice is an English actress known primarily for her role as Jane Banks in Walt Disney's feature film adaptation of the Mary Poppins book series. Dotrice was born in Guernsey to two accomplished stage actors...

) and Michael Banks (played by Matthew Garber

Matthew Garber

Matthew Adam Garber was a British actor best known for his role as Michael Banks in Walt Disney's 1964 film Mary Poppins...

). It is a lyrical musicalization of a would-be newspaper advertisement, describing in the kids' words what they feel the qualifications are for a good caregiver, as opposed to the strict type of caregiver their father wants.

The song also appears in the Cameron Mackintosh

Cameron Mackintosh

Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...

 musical stage production

Mary Poppins (musical)

Mary Poppins is a Walt Disney Theatrical musical based on the similarly titled series of children's books by P. L. Travers and the Disney 1964 film. The West End production opened in December 2004 and received two Olivier Awards, one for Best Actress in a Musical and the other for Best Theatre...

. It is unchanged in content; however, the music is more up-tempo than the original Irwin Kostal

Irwin Kostal

Irwin Kostal was an American musical arranger of films and an orchestrator of Broadway musicals.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kostal opted not to attend college, instead teaching himself musical arranging by studying the symphonic scores available at his local library...

 arrangement.

Literary Sources

• Sherman, Robert B. Walt's Time: from before to beyond
  Walt's Time: from before to beyond
  Walt's Time: from before to beyond is a 252-page autobiographic, full color book by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman. It was edited by Imagineers Bruce Gordon, David Mumford and Jeff Kurtti and was published in 1998 by Camphor Tree Publishers who are out of Santa Clarita, California...
  
  . Santa Clarita: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998.