Mary and the Witch's Flower Review 2017 Japan メアリと魔女の花

Mary and the Witch's Flower メアリと魔女の花
Year: 2017
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Writer: Riko Sakaguchi and Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Based On: The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart
Running Time: 103 mins
Country: Japan

The debut film from Japanese animation company Studio Ponoc screened at the Glasgow Film Festival 2018 in both original Japanese language with English subtitles and the newly produced English dub.

The director of When Marnie Was There returns with a thrilling animated adventure based on the Mary Stewart classic The Little Broomstick. Mary is sent to live with her great aunt in the countryside. Venturing into the woods, she discovers a mysterious blue flower that only appears once every seven years, and an old broomstick. Soon she is soaring beyond the clouds to a city in the sky where Madam Mumblechook presides over the Endor College of Magic. An absolute charmer that young and old alike will love. (Glasgow Film Festival)

Back in 2014 Studio Ghibli announced that it would stop making films after Hayao Miyazaki decided to retire and the company came under financial hardship. There was a missing void in high-quality hand-drawn animation that many feared wouldn't be replaced. But several of the most talented alumni behind Studio Ghibli decided to join forces, start their own production company Studio Ponoc and create animated films in the same traditional fashion. The name Ponoc comes from the Serbo-Croation word for 'midnight' which is meant to signal the beginning of a new day.

Hiromasa Yonebayashi has the all-important job of directing their first feature film. After his successful and highly acclaimed 'Arrietty' and 'When Marnie Was There', Yonebayashi once again returns to the tried-and-tested formula of adapting a British novel to Japanese animation.

On the surface, the film appears to combine elements from classics Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle In The Sky mixed with the wizardry of Harry Potter. Die-hard Ghibli fans will be keen to notice moments or visuals which are lifted from films like Spirited Away, The Cat Returns and Princess Mononoke, almost like they are paying homage. There is also a scene featuring a kid with glasses trying to fly a broom who shares a striking resemblance with Harry Potter, this has to be completely intentional!

As you would expect, Mary and the Witch's Flower is full of vibrant, bright and stunning animation. The backdrops and scenery are beautiful and lifelike. The style and technique looks very Ghibli-esque but it still has some of its own unique flavour. The soundtrack is handled by composer Muramatsu Takatsugu, who also scored Yonebayashi's last film When Marnie Was There, and it is a real highlight of the film. The soundtrack fits the world wonderfully, bringing the drama and action to life with its magical sound. The music also really helps build up the suspense and action towards the climax.

The humour and jokes are handled extremely well with some genuinely great laughs throughout. The cat duo of Tib and Gib are excellent comic relief. Their mannerisms and movements are used to add some real comical humour and the animators managed to capture exactly how cats act and move in real life. Like a Disney film, there are plenty of jokes for adults and children, there were many children in attendance during this screening and they were laughing loudly at many of the gags.

One of the main issues with the film is that the world they have created and its lore is just too large to develop over one movie. It would have ideally worked better over two or three films or maybe even an anime series. The introduction to Endor College for Witches is fascinating and there is some time spent there, but you end up craving more before it's quickly abandoned to further the story. Mary's dilemma and intentions are also never really fully explored or realised, she doesn't have enough drama or consequences in her life, it almost just seems like another day to the protagonist as she never really learns or develops as a character.

The screening I attended was the original Japanese language, which was handled extremely well. But I believe Mary and the Witch's Flower could be seen in either the original Japanese language or the English dub. The film is based on an English book, it's set in England and the characters have English names. I haven't watched the English dub but judging from the trailer the new English voice cast seems to suit the film very well. It could be one of those rare animes which can be enjoyed fully either way.

An excellent stepping point for Studio Ponoc which will draw in the fans of Studio Ghibli while hopefully creating some new fans of their very own. The film isn't ambitious as it could have been but maybe playing it safe was the best option for the beginning of this new company. If their future films are as good as or can improve on Mary and the Witch's Flower then their new work could be truly spellbinding.

7/10

Screened and reviewed at The Glasgow Film Festival 2018