Mary and the Witch's Flower

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Ghibli Reviews

Well, this all started with an unofficial Ghibli film, so I suppose it's only right that it ends with one as well. This one was actually done by Studio Ponoc - A company founded by former Studio Ghibli lead film producer Yoshiaki Nishimura. This represents the first film to be released by the studio. It appears to be the direction things have gone.

This one introduces us to a young, clumsy girl named Mary (Hana Sugisaki/Ruby Barnhill) who, one day, comes across a mysterious glowing flower. The flower appears to grant her the powers of an average witch, which is discovered mainly when a large broom takes her to a sort of city in the sky in which lies a magic college where witches and wizards train to become good - sound familiar?

Anyway, a lie about who and what Mary is (a human being using the flower for her magical powers, instead of an actual witch), told to the headmistress, Madam Mumblechook (Yūki Amami/Kate Winslet), lands her in a spot of trouble. She soon finds herself having to use her newfound abilities to rescue someone she cares about.

As one may imagine from my overall description, I found that this was actually a weaker title, despite a lot of otherwise cool stuff that goes on within the film. For the most part, this is due to the overall seemingly borrowing nature of the film. If I was to describe it as a combination of things in a blender, it's 'Kiki', 'Harry Potter' and perhaps a bit of 'Wizard of Oz' all thrown together. That said, it's also based on a children's book called 'The Little Broomstick', which is a 1971 book, and thus predating a lot of the more modern stuff mentioned. I know I said 'Oz', but that's kinda the least of it anyway. In fact, I daresay 'Harry Potter' may have taken more from that original book - but what do I know?

This is a pretty recent one that not everyone has seen yet, so I have to admit it feels kinda good being ahead of all of this, finally. It's not every day I can mention seeing a Ghibli film that most Ghibli fans still haven't yet. But I almost wonder if this further represents the ending of something kinda spectacular with this new studio. Or at least, I wonder if that's why fans kinda frown on this one. Personally, I'd say it's the stronger end of a 3 (yes, again, but that's just how it is). I've certainly seen worse.

Anyway, this is the final review for my month of Ghibli film watching, and I have to admit that I had a wonderful time with all of this - the good, the bad, the strange, it was all enjoyable. I learned a thing or two about Japanese culture and traditions, and I learned that I'm actually a fan of anime, which I tended to almost turn my nose up at before all of this. I'm happy to say that my eyes are open to things now, and I fully get how people are so passionate about it.

3/5

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