AceShowbiz - Emily Blunt's mesmerising portrayal of Mary Poppins reduced her tough father to tears the first time he saw her onscreen as the beloved nanny.

The British actress takes on the role made famous by Julie Andrews in the 1964 classic for the new sequel, "Mary Poppins Returns", and Emily reveals even the toughest of cynics have cracked after taking in the magical Disney film.

"It's funny because I feel people say that that's an extraordinary thing (to cry at Mary Poppins Returns), but most people cry when they see this film," she told U.S. breakfast show "Good Morning America". "Even my most cynical of friends, who don't (cry)."

Her barrister dad Oliver also tried his best to hold back the tears, to no avail - but the rare emotional display left Emily really touched.

"It truly was a memory I will have on my deathbed, because he doesn't cry, and he was just overcome (with emotion)," she smiled. "He was like, beetroot red from trying not to cry when he saw me (as Poppins). It was so moving, loved it. It was so sweet, so, so special."

Emily, whose husband John Krasinski previously admitted he shed tears upon watching the movie for the first time, has since used her role to impress the couple's eldest daughter, four-year-old Hazel, even though she refuses to choose between mum's Poppins performance and that of Andrews.

"(Hazel) still loves Julie Andrews' (version), desperately," Emily lamented. "I actually asked my daughter, 'Which one do you like best?' - like an idiot - and she was like, 'I like them both the same,' and I was like, 'Dammit!'."

However, the youngster has taken to asking Emily to put on the post accent she developed for the fictional nanny from time to time.

"My daughter quite likes me to do the voice for her sometimes," Blunt shared. "I think my cool factor hits the sky when I do that, which is kinda cool. She'll say, 'Do your Mary Poppins voice!' and I'll say, 'Spit spot and off we go!' (She) loves it!".

Emily, who is also mum to two-year-old girl Hazel, quipped, "I'm gonna dine out on that until they're teenagers and I become inevitably uncool!".