Written by: Kevin Berge
It was a real missed opportunity to not make this entire story about Tib the heroic cat. (Image Courtesy of: denofgeek.com)
Quick Take: Mary and the Witch's Flower has the charm and beautiful animation to rival Studio Ghibli, but it has a distinct lack of storytelling cohesion and character development. A breezy adventure, it is fun enough but cannot live up to its inspirations.
***This review will focus on the broad themes and set-up of Mary and the Witch's Flower rather than going into specifics. Beyond the basic story start, this review will contain no spoilers, but, if you want to go in blind, see the movie first before proceeding.***
Few studios have defined the business as consistently as Studio Ghibli which is approaching the end of its run with Hayao Miyazaki flirting with retirement and the recent unfortunate death of Isao Takahata flirting. Any film fan has to hope someone can carry on the Ghibli legacy.
Studio Ponoc is one such potential successor, founding by Ghibli's former lead film producer Yoshiaki Nishimura. The studio even brought on Ghibli animator and director Hiromasa Yonebayashi (When Marnie Was There) to helm its first major motion picture Mary and the Witch's Flower.
While this first effort cannot quite live up to that legacy yet, the movie certainly tries its best, never hiding its inspirations. This is an imaginative film with beautiful animation that even steps above Ghibli's example, and the story certainly feels like many of the classics.
Unfortunately, that story never feels fully realized. Mary and the Witch's Flower follows a young girl Mary who is attempting to acclimate to a new town when she comes across a power that gives her the magical ability to be a witch, awakening to a new fantastical hidden world.
It's a tale that takes some clear cues from Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and even Yonebayashi's Marnie. It's big. It's wild. It just doesn't have a strong structure. One of the biggest issues the weaker Ghibli films have is a lack of cohesion. They just seem to float through their world.
Mary and the Witch's Flower is certainly guilty of that, but it also lacks clear character development which makes this feel like Ghibli imitation at best. It's hard to even say who Mary is, let alone the supporting characters around her such as the local boy Peter and magic characters Madame Mumblechook and Doctor Dee.
Few studios have defined the business as consistently as Studio Ghibli which is approaching the end of its run with Hayao Miyazaki flirting with retirement and the recent unfortunate death of Isao Takahata flirting. Any film fan has to hope someone can carry on the Ghibli legacy.
Studio Ponoc is one such potential successor, founding by Ghibli's former lead film producer Yoshiaki Nishimura. The studio even brought on Ghibli animator and director Hiromasa Yonebayashi (When Marnie Was There) to helm its first major motion picture Mary and the Witch's Flower.
While this first effort cannot quite live up to that legacy yet, the movie certainly tries its best, never hiding its inspirations. This is an imaginative film with beautiful animation that even steps above Ghibli's example, and the story certainly feels like many of the classics.
Unfortunately, that story never feels fully realized. Mary and the Witch's Flower follows a young girl Mary who is attempting to acclimate to a new town when she comes across a power that gives her the magical ability to be a witch, awakening to a new fantastical hidden world.
It's a tale that takes some clear cues from Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and even Yonebayashi's Marnie. It's big. It's wild. It just doesn't have a strong structure. One of the biggest issues the weaker Ghibli films have is a lack of cohesion. They just seem to float through their world.
Mary and the Witch's Flower is certainly guilty of that, but it also lacks clear character development which makes this feel like Ghibli imitation at best. It's hard to even say who Mary is, let alone the supporting characters around her such as the local boy Peter and magic characters Madame Mumblechook and Doctor Dee.
Putting eyes on a paper butterfly is way more creepy than it has any right to be. (Image Courtesy of: kotaku.com.au)
Even the themes are fairly superficial in development. This is a tale of power, influence, and science that cannot quite commit to its ideas. This movie won't teach any grand lessons or introduce a tale that most will remember long after the flick ends.
However, it is still a fun ride. I watched the entire adventure with a smile on my face. With a wild and unruly pace, sometimes the beautifully drawn and animated landscapes can fly by. Still, there's so much here to just marvel at, and the story is simple and unfettered but also engaging.
A more reasonable comparison for this film is to shonen anime films. Those movies are not always great, but they're quick and imaginative ways to spend more time with well-defined characters. This is a more well developed version of those adventure flicks just lacking the established characters.
This is the perfect film for a young audience with so much imagination left for kids to explore. While it would have been nice to find a more fully formed vision from a studio trying to be the next Ghibli, it stands well without the comparison as a breezy adventure.
Released in the United States through GKIDS/Universal Pictures, this film does have an English dubbing on top of the original Japanese with English subbing. Both are excellently crafted with great English voice talent involved including Ruby Barnhill (The BFG), Kate Winslet (Titanic), and Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge!).
Hopefully Ponoc can find its footing with future movies. Even if they remain at this quality, they will be fun to sit back and enjoy, but there is potential for the right storytellers to use this impressive animation as a foundation for a new generation of engaging Japanese animated movies for all the world to enjoy.
However, it is still a fun ride. I watched the entire adventure with a smile on my face. With a wild and unruly pace, sometimes the beautifully drawn and animated landscapes can fly by. Still, there's so much here to just marvel at, and the story is simple and unfettered but also engaging.
A more reasonable comparison for this film is to shonen anime films. Those movies are not always great, but they're quick and imaginative ways to spend more time with well-defined characters. This is a more well developed version of those adventure flicks just lacking the established characters.
This is the perfect film for a young audience with so much imagination left for kids to explore. While it would have been nice to find a more fully formed vision from a studio trying to be the next Ghibli, it stands well without the comparison as a breezy adventure.
Released in the United States through GKIDS/Universal Pictures, this film does have an English dubbing on top of the original Japanese with English subbing. Both are excellently crafted with great English voice talent involved including Ruby Barnhill (The BFG), Kate Winslet (Titanic), and Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge!).
Hopefully Ponoc can find its footing with future movies. Even if they remain at this quality, they will be fun to sit back and enjoy, but there is potential for the right storytellers to use this impressive animation as a foundation for a new generation of engaging Japanese animated movies for all the world to enjoy.
