Mary and the Witch's Flower (2017)
Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2017)
Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Screenplay by Riko Sakaguchi and Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Based on the novel “The Little Broomstick” by Mary Stewart
Rated PG
Mary and the Witch’s Flower is the debut feature of Studio Ponoc which, judging from the animation style and early trailers, it appears to be an offshoot of the world renowned Studio Ghibli. But apart from the animation style, Studio Ponoc has more in common with Studio Ghibli that most would realize. Mary and the Witch’s Flower is directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi who directed two great features for Studio Ghibli namely The Borrower Arrietty (2010) (AKA The Secret World of Arrietty for the US release) and When Marnie was There (2014) and a lot of former employees of Studio Ghibli worked on the new film. With the purpose behind the new studio being to make beautiful animated films that both adults and children can get something out of, it makes sense that their debut feature Mary and the Witch’s Flower, based on the 1971 novel “The Little Broomstick” by Mary Stewart, would work to continue that tradition. I am happy to say that while I do agree that Yonebayashi’s previous directorial efforts are stronger, this new film is great on its own terms and a fantastic debut for Studio Ponoc.
Mary Smith (voiced by Ruby Barnhill) has just moved into a British estate with her great aunt while her parents are working. She is bored and when she tries to be helpful around the house, her efforts usually end up in disaster. She follows two cats into the forest and comes across a magical flower called a Fly by Night and later is led by one of the cats to a broomstick surrounded by overgrown tree roots. The cat then throws to Mary one of the Fly by Night flower pods which squishes in her hands, giving her magical abilities and causes her and the cat to go on a ride on the broomstick. The broomstick takes them to Endor College for Witches where she is warmly welcomed by the Headmaster Madame Mumblechook (voiced by Kate Winslet) and Doctor Dee (voiced by Jim Broadbent) who believe she is a naturally gifted and powerful witch. Will all of this good fortune lead Mary to a useful and easy life or is there danger just around the corner that threatens to put Mary and those she cares about in danger?
The story, although admittedly familiar, gets the job done in presenting an enchanting story of a girl who learns how to be helpful to others and to ultimately not rely on magic in order to do so. I have seen others complain how this feels like just another generic magical witches and wizards film in the vein of Harry Potter and were bemoaning the lack of being in the magical school in the film. First off, the 128-page novel was released in 1971 which was well before Harry Potter and while I haven’t read the novel I highly doubt in the movie adaptation they would borrow too much from anything modern and would primarily stick to the source. And secondly, the whole thing about Mary going to the magical school was never the purpose of the story. I won’t go too much into the story any more as I feel people need to see this for themselves.
The voice acting for the English dub I saw was pretty well done as far as I’m concerned. Mary was voiced by young English actress Ruby Barnhill who I previously saw in Steven Spielberg’s The BFG (2016). Despite The BFG being a giant snooze, Barnhill was the highlight of that whole film and I am happy to see her continuing to work. She really does sell the spunky, red headed well-meaning klutz who just one day happens to get magical powers and has an adventure. Kate Winslet does a fine job at playing the headmaster of the Endor college. Both she and Jim Broadbent, who voices Doctor Dee quite admirably, come off as cordial characters who can turn nasty at the drop of a hat. You also have other characters like Mary’s aunt and Mary’s acquaintance Peter who both play a part in the story but I have to admit I wanted to see more from a character named Flanagan (played by Ewen Bremner…you know…spud from Trainspotting). Flanagan is a funny anthropomorphic raccoon type creature who is the keeper of the broomsticks at the college. The way the character moves, talks and acts really made him stand out to me and I just wish we could have seen more of him. There are also the two cats that Mary becomes friendly with named Gib and Tib. I quickly grew to like them as well.
The animation is of course absolutely gorgeous and does carry on in the tradition of Studio Ghibli. I personally didn’t mind that the visual aesthetics between the two studios are similar as Ponoc really seems to be an offshoot from Ghibli (heck, the logos from both studios are similar). I also liked Makoto Shinkai’s Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011) and that was heavily influenced by Ghibli so I have no complaints in this department.
There were really only two things that bothered me with this film. As much as I like the character of Mary, I do wish that she would have had a bit more of an internal conflict. In the beginning, she felt she was not being useful and that made her a touch self-conscious. I wish that would have come back with more force later in the story to give Mary another challenge to overcome and build her character further. And I also wish that characters like Peter and her Aunt were given more time to develop before their parts in in the story at large came into focus.
This film may not be ground breaking or anything like that and while it is a simple story it is effectively told and delivers a visually enchanting experience that both children and adults can enjoy. In fact, at the Fathom Events one-night screening I went to, there were mostly adults there so no matter what they make it seems any age group will watch it so I guess it’s a win-win. This film is now at the time of this writing this review only playing in 161 theaters in the US. If it is paying anywhere close to where you live, I do recommend you check it out. In the absence of more constant output from Studio Ghibli and the long wait for the next (and possibly really the last?) Hayao Miyazaki film, Mary and the Witch’s Flower will likely leave you as satisfied as I was. This one, for me at least, is worth owning on Blu-ray.
