X
- 2018
- PG
- Fathom Events
- 1 h 43 m
- 2018
- PG
- Fathom Events
- 1 h 43 m
Summary Mary is an ordinary young girl stuck in the country with her Great-Aunt Charlotte and seemingly no adventures or friends in sight. She follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest, where she discovers an old broomstick and the strange Fly-by-Night flower, a rare plant that blossoms only once every seven years and only in that forest. ...
Directed By: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Written By: Mary Stewart, Riko Sakaguchi, Hiromasa Yonebayashi
- 2018
- PG
- Fathom Events
- 1 h 43 m
- 2018
- PG
- Fathom Events
- 1 h 43 m
Mary and The Witch's Flower
74
6.8
Where to Watch
Summary Mary is an ordinary young girl stuck in the country with her Great-Aunt Charlotte and seemingly no adventures or friends in sight. She follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest, where she discovers an old broomstick and the strange Fly-by-Night flower, a rare plant that blossoms only once every seven years and only in that forest. ...
Directed By: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Written By: Mary Stewart, Riko Sakaguchi, Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
74
85% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
15% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
74
85% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
15% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
This art-form has long been thought to have reached its twilight years, but Yonebayashi’s film brims over with the bounce and spark of childhood.
The results suggest that Ponoc was guided by a single principle: If Studio Ghibli won’t make Studio Ghibli films anymore, then we will. Which is to say Mary and the With’s Flower is delightful — a visually stunning fairy tale filled with whimsical ideas and warmly realized characters — but also familiar.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 73 User Ratings
6.8
66% Positive
48 Ratings
48 Ratings
27% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
7% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 73 User Ratings
6.8
66% Positive
48 Ratings
48 Ratings
27% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
7% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
The animation is absolutely eye catching, and needs to be celebrated! The pacing was surprisingly quick, and the dialogue, while feeling out of place at some points, (still a good dub) was pleasant and genuine. The fact that this is the studios first film is wonderful! While everyone is comparing everything about this film to every Ghibli film ever, I think studio Ponoc kept this more as a love letter to Ghibili rather than it's competition. I'm looking forward to Ponoc's future work!
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Hiromasa Yonebayashi shows ad well what he learnt in his brief stay on Studio Ghibli. With a anime style of his own screenplays a book for kids, a story that looks and not similar to Harry Potter, with a fluid and compelling development, and charming so memorable heroine. Another ignored by unfair, bloody Uncle Oscar.
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Yonebayashi pays perfect tribute to Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli with this bewitching and visually dazzling adventure. Studio Ponoc is off to a flying start.
Mary and the Witch’s Flower isn’t quite a masterpiece.... But it’s a joy to look at: a visual adventure, and a continuation of a remarkable legacy
The spell Mr. Yonebayashi casts is effective, but also ephemeral. It’s minor magic.
This is a film about the adolescent pangs to belong that also mines its tale of magic and malevolence for an imaginative allegory about the excesses of scientific inquiry.
It’s thrilling to have any semblance of Studio Ghibli back in our theaters and Mary and the Witch’s Flower will momentarily satisfy that hunger, but will leave you wanting more.
Review for film with Japanese audio, english subtitles.
I found Mary and the Witch's Flower to be a moving film. I was engaged throughout and time passed very quickly. I appreciated the wonderully drawn Shropshire landscapes. I found it entertaining observing all the Ghibli signature tropes. I'm pretty sure they included every Miyazaki film somewhere: broomsticks and cats, the ponyo sea worm/droplets, the red elk, the laputa style school guards, authoritative older baddy, redemption/infantilisation of baddies, egg-man lookalike, delicious food shots, floating land islands, cute dog, and clouds. I thought that the depiction of the school was absolutely fabulous, and really a location that I would love to explore more of, the time alloted was not sufficient, understandably.
The film is so rich, let me list all the specifics I loved: the school janitor Flanagan, cats, magic spells, all the various animals stampeding, the botanical focus, the remote house, the song at the end 'rain', laputa style school guards, the various gadgetry of the Kamaji type professor, and did I mention Flanagan?
Sequel, please!
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It gets to be too much on the predictable side, but it is respectable and works better as a children's fantasy. The young will be tickled with whimsical joy from "…the Witch's Flower".
That said, teens and adults can enjoy the beautifully fluid and expressive animation/art.
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It seens like a Ghibli movie, but don't feel like one. I know we are talking about a different studio, but if Ponoc was decided to go with a Ghibli approach and feeling in it's debut it should at least have the same charm and heartfelt feeling. I must say it's a good start, but Ponoc have a long track to trail.
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This movie was not great. Another movie about a powerful magical character who doesn't end up using any magic. The villains are boring and predictable.
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Production Company
Studio Ponoc,
Nippon Television Network (NTV),
Toho,
Hakuhodo DY Media Partners,
Walt Disney Company,
Lawson,
Kadokawa,
Khara Corporation,
Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (YTV),
Kenon,
Amuse,
D.N. Dream Partners,
Line,
The Yomiuri Shimbun,
Sapporo Television Broadcasting Company,
Miyagi Television Broadcasting,
Shizuoka Daiichi Television,
Chukyo TV,
Hiroshima Telecasting (HTV),
Fukuoka Broadcasting,
Dentsu
Release Date Jan 19, 2018
Duration 1 h 43 m
Rating PG
Tagline From a single lie, everything will change.
Awards
Annie Awards
• 2 Nominations
International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA)
• 1 Nomination
Awards of the Japanese Academy
• 1 Nomination
