Iam a very goal-oriented person. This personality trait bleeds into just about every aspect of my life, but one of the more unusual places is my workout routine. Yes, I understand that most people set goals for themselves when they workout. They set a goal to lift more, or run farther, or faster. But my goal is to watch all Disney movies in chronological order of when they were released while I workout. I’ll explain. In addition to other workout routines, my routine includes a little under 30 minutes where I complete a combination of ab workouts and running on the elliptical machine. During that time, I like to have something on the TV. Choosing what to watch on the TV is always difficult, so a year ago I decided to watch all the Disney movies in order. Seeing as I am currently on movie number 77, this system should last me about eight years.

But I digress. All of that led me to the realization I made while watching movie number 73: Mary Poppins.

Mary Poppins was truly extraordinary for the time. The movie was released in 1964 and included magical moments such as live action and cartoon interaction, movement that defied gravity (sliding up the banister, multiple characters flying, and amazing dancing during the song Step in Time), smoke stairs, bottomless bags, seamless puppetry, and so much more. And all of this was accomplished without the aid of CGI. Instead, Business Insider states, “the film used a proprietary system, including sodium vapor lights, a special prism, and a beam splitter, to create tighter and subtler mattes than screen techniques of the time.” I don’t even know what all that means, but I do know it means they created movie magic without computer technology.

Because of these amazing features and the timeless talent of Julie Andrews and Dick VanDyke, Mary Poppins was the first Disney movie to be nominated for 13 Academy Awards (just one nomination short of the current record) and won five: Best Actress, Best Song, Best Musical Score, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects. Mary Poppins was undeniably groundbreaking in the cinema industry.

So as I was running with sweat dripping down my face, I was absolutely struck by the sheer level of innovation, talent, and skill that went into this movie. Not every Disney movie has the same caliber as that of Mary Poppins, but it was a nice moment of realization and appreciation for the art of movie making, and I look forward to more similar moments as I continue this eight-year journey.