Mary to Majo no Hana

Rollo

Mary and the Witch's Flower (Mary to Majo no Hana) is Studio Ponoc's first film as a company, and as such it's bound to have some flaws. However, I think the actual people behind Studio Ponoc's experience from Ghibli really helped to pull this together. # The Problems Of course, no film is without problems, so let's get those out of the way. I felt like the voice acting was slightly boring. I have nothing against Ruby Barnhill, it's just that she doesn't have experience in cartoon voice-acting at all. Her performance came off as such, and it made some moments that were supposed to be dramatic, something irrelevant in the grand scheme. Of course, however, Kate Winslet and Jim Broadbent's performances were great. But, I feel like in addition to Mary's voice acting being a problem, I feel like the script wasn't translated entirely well. It felt like the choice of words a lot of characters used to describe things was just... odd. Now, I don't really watch much dub, I prefer sub but this film was only available dubbed. This might be a normal problem for dubbed films, but is a problem nonetheless. It also ties in with what I said earlier about dramatic moments. The characters would say something that's supposed to be sad or something, and the sentence would actually sound sad in Japanese, but in English, combined with the amateur child actress, it just doesn't work well. # The Strengths Now onto what I actually like about this film. For a studio's very first film, this is outstanding. Not only that, they got Disney Japan on board as well. They really pulled it off in the end, and produced a great film. It's not too often that a first movie is actually pretty good. Another thing, the visuals are stunning. There were some shots where I said to myself "Wow. That actually looks really cool." The backgrounds, visual effects, and animation are all gorgeous. It's not the best I've seen by any means, but it definitely can't be looked past. I also loved the humor in this. While it's not a comedy in itself - it's not very joke-oriented - there was one specific joke that stood out to me. Near the beginning of the movie, Peter gives Mary the nickname "Red-headed monkey", which of course offends Mary, but is cute and funny in context. A lot later in the film, Peter finds himself running side-by-side to a bunch of animals with Mary. He turns to an actual red-furred monkey, thinking it's Mary. He just kind of guiltily pauses for a second, and Mary sarcastically says "*I'm over here*". I don't know, maybe it's not for everyone but I thought that subtle humor was hilarious, given it hinged entirely on context given earlier in the film. It was also completely out of nowhere given the lack of literally any jokes so far, yet it didn't distract from anything and was actually refreshing rather than something to be taken aback by. Another thing that I think this film does right is the morals and the ideas behind it. This part might have a bit of a spoiler. The entire film, Mary has gotten her power through magic flowers. Throughout the film she learns just how dangerous it is to have so much power. When the headmistress and Dr. D try giving someone copious amounts of magic as an experiment, it completely backfires and Mary sees just how big of a mistake it is to take such power lightly. Near the end of the film, Peter sees an extra flower bud stuck in Mary's hair. Even if this part is kind of forced and I think they could've found a better way to introduce that last bud, what she did next I thought really wrapped the whole idea up in a nice little bow. She says that she's had enough power for one day, and casts the flower into the sky. Of course this isn't something revolutionary or necessarily clever. I'm just saying that the film accomplished what it set out to do while being subtle about it at the same time the whole way through. # Conclusion I enjoyed this film. I really enjoyed it. I give it an 83 because it's halfway between 80 and 85. I think 85 is a bit generous and 80 is a bit harsh. Like I said, it's not a perfect film by any means. But it did accomplish nearly all that it wanted to, and I enjoyed it. The film was great, it was adorable. Not to mention the main character is super cute (but that's not counted on the score heheh). I would recommend this film as a start to people who don't actually watch anime. It's not quite a Ghibli film, but I feel like it fills the modern anime stereotypes more than the old-fashioned Ghibli films. Ghibli does not make bad films by any means, but if someone I knew wanted to get an ease into watching anime, I might recommend something like this to them. Although, Ghibli is still a very viable option. Goodnight, everybody!

JTurner82

Studio Ghibli had long established itself as the pinnacle of Japanese animation starting in the 1980's, but recently the studio went into hiatus, leaving most of its younger employees at a dead-end. Not to be discouraged, some of these employees decided to start a new facility of their own. Now christened as "Studio Ponoc", this team of former Ghibli animators, led by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (___The Secret World of Arrietty___ and ___When Marnie Was There___) begin their career with ___Mary and the Witch's Flower___, based on a children's book by the late Mary Stewart. The end result could very well be described as basically a "Greatest Hits" of Ghibli as opposed to something that would establish a new identity for the studio, but considering the alternative, which would be a complete extinction of a beautiful form of art, for once, this isn't a flaw. Probably the best way to describe this feature is that it's a sort of ___Kiki's Delivery Service___ meets ___Harry Potter___, with a dash of ___Spirited Away___, and occasionally ___Princess Mononoke___, ___Howl's Moving Castle___, as well as ___Castle in the Sky___ for good measure. While ___Mary and the Witch's Flower___ doesn't quite live up to the standards of those titles, it is nonetheless a pleasant enough venture. It's also refreshing to see an animated feature targeted at kids and adults which goes all-out on being ambitious. In fact, the film's action-packed opening scene, in which we see a mysterious girl flee from a burning laboratory on a broomstick while chased by dolphin-shaped watery-like creatures, provides a great start. After this thrilling sequence, we meet Mary (voiced in the English version by Ruby Barnhill), a bored little girl who has just moved to the countryside to stay with her aunt. She's friendless, depressed, and even clumsy. The only other person her own age in the town she has recently moved into, a boy named Peter, also rubs her the wrong way: he jokes about her red hair, which for some reason she is sensitive about. While pursuing a runaway cat into the woods beyond her house, Mary discovers both a little broomstick and a glowing flower. Before you know it, she is suddenly transported to Endor College (no, it's not a reference to STAR WARS), an elaborate fortress of a university which doubles as a school for witches. She is "welcomed" by the school's domineering headmistress Madam Mumblechook (Kate Winslet) and scientist Doctor Dee (Jim Broadbent). But things get ugly when she takes a spellbook that doesn't belong to her and accidentally puts Peter's life in danger. The last act of the movie involves Mary trying to correct her mistake, building to an edge of your seat climax with just enough pyrotechnics and thrills to please any fan of such suspenseful finales. It's evident that director Yonebayashi is paying homage to his former master with every scene in his film. More often than not, there are visual references that one will make to classic Ghibli films along with visual touches of its own. Endor College is located on a tall mesa stretching above the clouds, bizarre assortments of chimera creatures abound in cages, and there are also the sort of rubbery, shape-shifting, ooze-like creatures that can be found from ___Howl___. At one point our heroine crash-lands in the forest, with her broomstick broken in half. And the entire climax involves scaling a massive tree which houses scientific technology. The animation is also as richly detailed and colorful as anything from Studio Ghibli, with the character designs each containing Miyazaki's signature style, from the cherub-like faces of the protagonists to the grotesquely proportioned "caricature" creatures. Musically, too, ___Mary and the Witch's Flower___ excels. Although Joe Hisaishi's musical services are missed, Takatsugu Muramatsu supplies a beautiful orchestral soundtrack with occasional Hammer-dulcimer strummed interludes for good measure. There are times when the director does allow the music to take a back seat and let occasional still shots filled with environmental sounds do the talking instead of spoon-feeding us. Perhaps the only issue with this otherwise enjoyable feature is that it doesn't quite achieve the same heights of Ghibli's classic films. It might be due to Yonebayashi trying to do a bit too much within 104 minutes or so, but there are a few plot points that feel a bit unresolved. I was unclear about Mary's issue regarding her hair, for instance, especially since the film decides to discard it in the second half. Her relationship with Peter also could have used a bit more fleshing out as well -- her sudden shift from annoyance to wanting to rescue him feels abrupt, even for a kid her age. The ending itself, while thrilling, also seems a bit rushed as well. Moreover, Mumblechook and Doctor Dee aren't all that scary for being antagonists, and despite Yonebayashi's claims that they are "misunderstood", all we're permitted to see in the film is both characters mostly engaging in despicable acts. Probably the most interesting character in the movie is the one that doesn't utter a word, and that is Tib, a black cat who very much resembles Jiji from ___Kiki's Delivery Service___. He pretty much acts like any ordinary cat would. He meows, prances, acts independently, and mostly communicates with facial expressions. For good measure, Tib even has a girlfriend. Not that the other characters are unlikable by comparison, but these two animals, for some reason, really stand out. Following in the tradition of the Ghibli movies, this movie also employs some well-known actors and actresses to provide the voices for the dub -- only this time, the dub is recorded at England's Tambourine Studios, resulting with a mostly British-accented cast. Considering that this is based on a British children's book, this provides a nice change of pace, and is arguably all the more fitting for this film perhaps because of that. (None of this is a slight against any of the Disney-produced dubs for the Ghibli library -- they're still excellent, warts and all.) Oddly, the only performance that took a while to grow on me was that of Barnhill as Mary (recently seen as Sophie in Steven Spielberg's ___The BFG___). Her voice is a bit grating at first, with the occasional moment of tentativeness, but she gradually steps it up as the film goes on and by the end her Mary grew on me. Broadbent and Winslet are fine in their roles as Mumblechook and Dee, by contrast, while Louis Ashbourne Serkis (son of Andy Serkis from ___Lord of the Rings___ fame) speaks appropriately for the role of Peter. Strangely, my favorite performance of the dub might be that of Ewen Bremner as as Flannagan, a pompous fox-like character who chastises Mary for how she handles her broomstick. The Scottish accent is a great fit, and he brings a lot of character. There are a few moments where the lip sync is less than perfect, but not distracting enough to take away from the film. I can't speak for the Japanese version, as I haven't seen it. In the end it doesn't matter which version you watch. ___Mary and the Witch's Flower___, inferior though it may be to Ghibli, is nonetheless lovely and a great way to spend two hours. Although it does little to set Ponoc apart from the studio it takes inspiration from, there's plenty to enjoy. That it comes at a time when hand-drawn animated features like these are scarce (at least in America) is a blessing as well.

chaotica

I have a few notes about the movie. I did love it, yes. but there was a few things that did not add up. when Mary's aunt ran outside after Mary left to go try to save peter (the first time), I automatically made the assumption that she must have been the witch who stole the flower years ago. (as shown in the beginning of the movie) but if her aunt was a witch, why didnt Mary inherit any magic? it was obvious that they WERE related, hence the bright red hair that they both have. so did genes not carry out? or is magic not a gene that can be passed down? if it cant be passed down, what was the point of having a witch school? if magic cant be passed down, then how do the students get the magic in the first place? is it like random selection? -Another note, about Peter. I felt bad for him throughout the movie. it wasn't his fault that he was brought into the mess, though, he didnt show Mary any distain for what she did in the end. but she DID try to blame him for the flowers in the first half of the movie.. and if she hadn't done that, then the principle/scientist/villain would not have been able to find his address and kidnap him. in retrospect that was what the movie needed to continue on, but if Mary had not disclosed where peter had lived, he would not have been brought into the mess. if I were him I would at least be a little bit mad about it all, since he ended up being used as a lab rat by the scientists. -theres something to be said about their bond, however. She only knew Peter for a few days, yet they bonded immediately, despite him making a joke over something shes so deeply self-conscious about. i thought it was cute how when she went to save him (the first time) they made a promise to get out of there together. and it was so cute how she managed to keep that promise even when her magic ran out. (I DO NOT SHIP THEM, THATS NOT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT) but it was cute how they were so happy to see each other in the end. -another note, if Mary ran out of magic, how did she ride the broom home in the end? are the brooms in this movie self-aware? I dont think they are self-aware, since after every time that Mary's magic ran out, the broom shut off, or like died temporarily. and it was shown that Mary did not use the last flower to power the broom, since she threw it away as they flew home. so how did she manage to fly home without magic? those are all the notes I had about this movie, overall it was AMAZING. plot was awesome, the friendship development was awesome as well. I thought it was cute how the cat had a bond for each other throughout the movie. if not for them, Mary would not have been able to save peter. in a way they are the heroes in this movie. i wish there was more of the gardener in the movie, they barely showed him throughout the movie, yet he made such a great impact. he deserved a back-story if you ask me.

Erfangholiz

I gave this film a 7.2, I liked it, it lacked some stuff but still a fun 83 minute ride that I would probably rewatch. In this review I'm going to compare it to Ghibli movies a lot, because I believe pretty much its entire identity is influenced by them and this is the best way to analyze, I'm going to talk about the shortcomings and the triumphs of this movie the best I can, hope you enjoy! #Ponoc & Ghibli, The visuals of Mary and the Witch's Flower For those of you who don't know, Hiromasa Yonebayashi (this movie's writer and director) has worked as an animator in studio Ghibli since Princess Mononoke, first as an in-between animator and then as a key animator and director, and that's the main reason his post-Ghibli works look so much like Ghibli films, in terms of animation and visual aesthetics (check out Modest Heroes), a lot of the visual ideas and choices made in those films were probably his and after leaving that studio he makes a movie that I believe, looks as good as the most visually stunning Ghibli films (Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away).

img330(https://i.imgur.com/6wppZSz.png) img330(https://i.imgur.com/5IFIrqz.png)

Remember this girl? she was in Kiki's Delivery Service, only in one scene, she has the same hair as Mary and has a cat identical to Tib (Mary's cat). This was Yonebayashi's first movie after leaving Ghibli after many years and it seems like he's taking a ton of ideas with him. Perhaps to establish his territory and say that even though he's left that studio behind it's not like he's left all those years of experience behind and he's going to put all his knowledge from Ghibli to good use in his new studio. There are numerous parallels to other Ghibli movies in this film, here's some that caught my eyes: Howl's Moving Castle:

img330(https://i.imgur.com/H8nFHwU.jpg) img330(https://i.imgur.com/8zl2eyz.jpg)

Spirited Away:

img330(https://i.imgur.com/D9IFfgA.jpg) img330(https://i.imgur.com/W7qXHwN.jpg)

And of course Kiki's Delivery Service:

img330(https://i.imgur.com/VVaYHe4.jpg) img330(https://i.imgur.com/tZ2LW1c.jpg)

Hell, even the opening logo looks like Ghibli's:

img330(https://i.imgur.com/6JNHWgA.jpg) img330(https://i.imgur.com/jMTE6Tz.jpg)

Why copy? you have what it takes, you can totally pull it off, why not bring your own ideas to the table? this was kind of a petty move if I'm being honest, but I understand where he's coming from, when Hiromasa Yonebayashi screened the film for his former colleagues at Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki congratulated him but said he wouldn't see the film ( Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6336356/trivia?item=tr3463361 ), I can perfectly imagine why he left that studio and why he brought so many ideas with him, Hayao Miyazaki has a long history of controlling and getting in the way of his directors that you can look up for yourself. All of that aside, I do consider Mary and the Witch's Flower to be one of the best looking anime films ever made, both in terms of cinematography and animation this movie is phenomenal, and I'm not sure how else to put this without repeating myself over and over again, so just watch the movie and see for yourself. I feel like with this film he wanted to flex and show off just how well he understands the craft and how better off he is without Ghibli, and I wish I could say the same thing for the story. #Story While it isn't exactly bad, it could've been much better. A girl thrust into a new wondrous world who gets caught up in all kinds of situations, a recurring theme in Ghibli films such as Spirited Away, The Cat Returns, Kiki's delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro. But unlike all of those movies, the characters in this film don't really have any depth to them or go through any development, I would have loved to see Mary go from being a child who hates herself to someone mature who can accept herself for who she is, like Anna in When Marnie Was There (which ironically enough, was made by the same creator), but nothing like that happens, her primary state isn't even that emphasized, she says she wants to change in just one scene and she's sick of her frizzy hair, there's not even any room for development, at the end of the day this movie is just about a girl who gets caught up in some magical stuff and that's it. And the side character Peter, we don't really get to know him that much, giving him a little more personality would have raised the stakes in the plot points that he was a part of, if he had a more meaningful connection with Mary, then her trying to save him would have been more intense and her triumph at the end would have been more satisfying. The antagonists are just generic, ESPECIALLY compared to the usual antagonists you get from Ghibli. One of the things that really sets Ghibli aside from any other studio for me in terms of storytelling, is that in a Ghibli film there's no pure malice, not really (Tales From Earthsea aside, fuck that movie), Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind are perfect examples, Lady Eboshi (from Princess Mononoke) rescued all of those women from brothels and helped treat many sick people, same with Kushana (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind), they're not just brainless villains like characters you get in Disney films, they have a personality and feel like actual people with clashing ideologies, that's why I don't get why people keep comparing Ghibli to Disney and saying Hayao Miyazaki is the Walt Disney of Japan. But in Mary and the Witch's Flower the antagonists are scientists who are too dumb to predict their plan won't end well. #Final words Did I compare it to Ghibli too much? When you look at this movie as its own thing (which is exactly what one should do! don't mind my rambling) the story isn't half bad, it feels magical at some points, I was actually feeling kind of broken inside when it ended, but I can't help but ruin my enjoyment. Thanks for reading my review, and now, the score: Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe... 72 If you have anything to say, perhaps to critique my critique leave a private message (or a public one) for me and I'll definitely get back to you!

Nekomina

~~~img500(https://64.media.tumblr.com/a02e23ed0053b6d16aae2066fa433e68/085c4b8107995a10-2e/s640x960/73563dd236996b15acd1f88e5bb98f68404fe17c.gifv)~~~ ___English Version___ __Mary and the Witch Flower__ is the first work from __Studio Ponoc__, making its premiere in the big screen. Its art is heavily influenced by __Studio Ghibli__. This is because, after some of the crises that the animation studio has suffered, the young animators decided to create their own studio in 2015 without denying the great influence that Ghibli had on them. But they did not decide to stop there, __they went further__, giving their personal touch to the well-known style and this is evident in the clothing, which is more modern, and in the way the animals are drawn. __Mary__, the little protagonist, is a girl with _red hair_ a little rebellious for her taste. The film shows that she feels weird and out of place most of the time. Also, whether she wants it or not, she will begin a __journey__ that will lead her to her transformation and __evolution__ as a character that we see throughout the film. The __themes__ that are developed throughout this action feature film have remarkable weight, are essential and are a source of __anxiety__ for young people like the protagonist. The main one is __not accepting yourself__. It looks like Mary wants to be something she is not and tries to change or "correct herself" according to her, not being satisfied. Also, trying to be good or skillful enough, and repeatedly failing, she ends up __frustrated__ by not being able to do normal things easily just like everyone else you know. ~~~ img320(https://64.media.tumblr.com/e76d2fa73619107d0be31b98ee4aa431/d40d51ecc6022ea6-8d/s540x810/bfe981aad0ac5d09128ce9892170b0023240a371.gifv) img310(http://www.simbasible.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1-19.gif)~~~ As the story progresses, Mary meets __Peter__ and will be her partner during the film, but he has a great presence as a companion, his personality changes throughout the experiences he has and his resolution, making him __overshadow__ Mary many times. This is not all bad as Peter makes the little witch __grow up__ by comparing herself to him and feeling frustrated. This journey of the __hero__, is late, it moves slowly and it is almost as if the hero, although she is already in the middle of her path, does not want to, or rather is not capable of becoming the person she should be. The __motivations__ of the little redhead is to make amends for everything she did wrong, all the events that were triggered by not being able to act at the moment, __feeling guilty__, but taking responsibility for it, increasing her __courage__ thanks to Peter. An important issue that little Mary faces is the fear of the __new__, not knowing what to do with so much information, feeling __overwhelmed__ by everything that happens, making her passive, except for some occasions that makes the story go on, for a long time making her attitude not suit her, but she becomes a hero when necessary since they act when they are most needed. ~~~img350(https://64.media.tumblr.com/8d3083d1b4edb4435c0ced1f4de88198/tumblr_pu3h5qmlUS1shdhdjo1_540.gifv)~~~ At the same time, you see a search for where she belongs, feeling comfortable, leave the comfort zone to achieve what she is really __passionate__ about and can be herself without inhibitions. There is also the teaching that words are powerful and trigger different actions, therefore, you have to be responsible for them. Another significant theme that Mary and the Witch Flower explores, which has had many repercussions today, is __animal abuse__. They handle it in a very successful way, to reflect on ethics and the importance of lives and the respect that should exist towards them. Regarding the animation, its style similar to the Studio Ghibli's style for which it feels familiar, giving comfort; It has more up-to-date and __contemporary__ tones such as the characters clothing and the different settings. The most representative element of this film is the special effects of __magic__, they stand out from the rest of the shot to give it that out-of-this-world effect, with much brighter colors. The __bubbles and lights__ give the animation eccentricity, giving a special touch to the film. Although it is a simple story, the essence that this film leaves its viewers is, a little deeper, that there are solutions that are __not conventional__, they seem a bit far-fetched and sound ridiculous, but that does not mean that they are __impossible__. Being able to achieve your goals by motivation and self-effort and not by something external is what makes us heroes of our own history. ~~~img500(https://i.imgur.com/4oIBALx.gif)~~~ ___Versión en Español___ __Mary and the Witch Flower__ es la primera obra del __Studio Ponoc__, estrenándose en el mundo de la gran pantalla. Su arte tiene una gran influencia del __Studio Ghibli__. Esto se debe a que, luego de algunas de las crisis que ha sufrido el estudio de animación, los jóvenes animadores decidieron crear su propio estudio en el 2015 sin negar la gran influencia que Ghibli tuvo en ellos. Pero no decidieron detenerse ahí, __fueron más allá__, dando su toque personal al estilo tan conocido y esto se nota en la vestimenta, que es más moderna, y en la forma que están dibujados los animales. __Mary__, la pequeña protagonista, es una niña con __pelo rojo__ un poco rebelde para su gusto. El film muestra que se siente rara y fuera de lugar la mayor parte del tiempo. Además, quiera o no, empezará un viaje el cual la llevara a su __transformación__ y evolución como personaje que vemos a través de toda la película. Los temas que se desarrollan a lo largo de este largometraje de acción tienen gran peso, son esenciales y son una fuente de __ansiedad__ para jóvenes como la protagonista. El principal es el no __aceptarse a sí mismo__. Se ve como Mary quiere ser algo que no es e intenta cambiarse o “corregirse” según ella, el no estar satisfecho. Asimismo, al intentar ser lo suficientemente buena o hábil, y fallar en repetidas ocasiones se termina __frustrando__ por no lograr hacer cosas normales de manera sencilla igual que todas las demás personas que conoce. ~~~ img310(https://pa1.narvii.com/6718/c92b81c4431e31bd30f36200dd9f186c78cbc8f3_hq.gif) img322(https://64.media.tumblr.com/97788410c8025cc1706b20c1750bf9d6/tumblr_pyrtonurc61x6ma1qo6_r1_400.gifv)~~~ Al avanzar en la historia Mary conoce a __Peter__ y este será su compañero durante la película, pero él tiene una gran presencia como acompañante, su personalidad va cambiando a lo largo de las experiencias que tiene y su resolución, haciendo que __opaque__ en muchas ocasiones a Mary. Esto no está del todo mal ya que Peter hace que la pequeña bruja crezca al compararse con él y __sentirse frustrada__. Este viaje del héroe, es tardío, se mueve con lentitud y es casi como que el héroe, aunque ya esté en pleno desenlace de su camino, no quiera, o más bien no es capaz de llegar a ser la persona que debería ser. __Las motivaciones__ de la pequeña pelirroja es enmendar todo lo que hizo mal, todos los sucesos que se desencadenaron por no poder actuar en el momento, __sintiéndose culpable__, pero tomando responsabilidad de ello, aumentando su coraje gracias a Peter. Un tema importante y del cual la pequeña Mary se enfrenta es el __miedo a lo nuevo__, el no saber qué hacer con tanta información sintiéndose abrumada por todo lo que ocurre, haciendo que sea __pasiva__, salvo algunas ocasiones que le dan pie a la historia, por mucho tiempo haciendo que su actitud no le sienta bien, pero se vuelve un héroe cuando es necesario ya que estos actúan cuando más se necesitan. ~~~img450(https://64.media.tumblr.com/9f01a3648f7b4b420218c48880e7bcaf/caccb376d11777d0-3b/s400x600/a10ffe2f9fd313240da2505fe6b177470379baff.gifv)~~~ A su vez, se ve una búsqueda del __lugar al que pertenece__, el sentirse cómoda, salir de la zona de confort para conseguir lo que de verdad le apasiona y pueda ser ella sin inhibiciones. También esta la enseñanza de que las palabras son __poderosas__ y desencadenan distintas acciones, por lo tanto, hay que ser responsable de ellas. Otro tema importante que explora Mary and the Witch Flower, el cual ha tenido muchas repercusiones en la actualidad, es el __maltrato animal__. Lo manejan de una forma muy acertada, para reflexionar sobre la ética y la __importancia__ sobre las vidas y el respeto que debería existir hacia estas. Respecto a la animación, su estilo parecido al del Studio Ghibli por lo cual se siente familiar, dando confort; tiene tonos más actualizados y __contemporáneos__ como la vestimenta de los personajes y los distintos escenarios. Lo más representativo de este film son los efectos especiales de la __magia__, sobresalen del resto del plano para darle ese efecto fuera de este mundo, con colores mucho más brillantes. __Las burbujas__ y las luces le dan __excentricismo__ a la animación dándole un toque especial a la película. Aunque sea una historia sencilla, la esencia que deja este film es sus espectadores, un poco más profunda, es que hay soluciones que no son __convencionales__, parecen un poco descabelladas y suenan ridículas, pero no por eso significan que sean __imposibles__. El poder lograr los objetivos por motivación y esfuerzo propio y no por algo externo es lo que nos hace héroes de nuestra propia historia.

Ciaora39

~~~img1000(https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/ghbjnkllm.jpg)~~~ Fun and simple stories are always welcomed. Children’s fantasy as a genre fits these two things correctly. We’ve all grown up with these timeless tales that transformed us at the early stage of our development. There was once a time in anime, specifically in the 70s, when studios adapted old children’s literature from the late 19th to early 20th century. Mary and the Witch’s Flower gives off these vibes from my experience viewing it. This is the first animated feature by Studio Ponoco, a studio founded by former Studio Ghibli lead producer Yoshiaki Nishimura and several staffers that joined him after Ghibli decided to pause all production for re-evaluation. Mary and the Witch’s Flower shows the real intention of Studio Ponoco to continue the legacy of the Ghibli style of animation in case Ghibli decides to go belly up, at least that is my interpretation. They know that if Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata are gone, Ghibli is done for. With all of the talent they brought from Ghibli to make this film, did they succeed in capturing the essence of a great Ghibli film? In the briefest answer I can give: they mimic the technical aspects of a Ghibli film 100%, but not its spirit. ~~~img1000(https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/mary-witchs-flower-studio-ponac.jpg)~~~ When people think of a Ghibli film, they think of how beautiful the animation is and how memorable the characters are, and how its story grabs you through the end. Mary and the Witch’s Flower get half of it right. It isn't very reassuring to think about this as this is their debut. However, I would not mean that the story and characters are awful. They do not reach that higher echelon that many people would expect out of the people formerly from Studio Ghibli. It is one of the most beautiful animated films I’ve seen in many years and the entire Ghibli film library. From the opening scene, I was hooked by how tremendous the fluidity of the character movements looked and the colors from the magical spells. Seeing a character fly their broomstick was riveting to experience. It almost felt like I was flying with them. It still has a lot of fun Ghibli tropes we love, like messy hair and how characters react to any situation. The creativity of the spells and the creatures are always cool to see and show that they have not skipped a beat in making these weird, strange anomalies that made Ghibli unique. I saw this in a movie theater where they showed it with the English dubbing. To its credit, the dubbing is pretty good. It was cool to listen to characters with English accents in an anime film, especially one based on a story written in England. Ruby Barnhill as Mary is excellent, Ewen Bremmer is hilarious as Flanagan, and Kate Winslet is nearly unrecognizable as Madame Mumblechook. ~~~img1000(https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/rhj5c2r9rcqjv0clgja1.png)~~~ Despite my previous remark on the flawed characters, I thought Mary was a fine heroine. She was funny whenever she acted like a tough girl, annoyed at all the frivolous things that you would expect a little girl to do. Her clumsiness was always fun to see as well. It gave some bit of charm to her that made me smile throughout. Now how they write her storywise is a whole other situation. Unfortunately, the rest of the characters do not come off as very memorable. The villains are probably the most forgettable in any Ghibli film. Their motivations for their actions are not explored very well, except that they want to create an abomination based on magic flowers for god knows what reason. It just came off as a lazy way of creating a conflict for our heroes. It is common for many children’s stories to have villains with half-baked intentions for their evil actions, but that should not be a reason to defend poor writing. I am not asking for anything incredibly deep. Give me a little more to care about their intent, but the film failed to do so. David is the male “co-star” of the film, and I use air quotes because he is not given much for us to care about him. One of the film's biggest flaws is the relationship between him and Mary. At first, Mary does not like David because he pokes fun at her by calling her a red monkey because of her messy red hair, and they always argue. It was funny to see, I will admit that, but then later on (without spoiling anything), when something happens to David, all of a sudden Mary acts all worried and wants to save him as if he was her best friend. The way it was paced, it seemed as though the writers did not bother to build up a rekindled bond between Mary and David mid-way through the story. This problem would have been remedied had the film taken at least fifteen minutes to develop. Not to mention David constitutes only about 1/3rd of the entire movie, so we are not given enough room to care about him at the end of it. ~~~img1000(https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/screen-shot-2016-12-15-at-9-40-16-am.png)~~~ The simple nature of the story might seem like a positive or a negative depending on how you view children’s stories. I am part of the half that believes children can handle some depth to whatever entertainment or story is given to them. If they had just given a little more development to the characters and paced better, this could have been a tremendous debut for Studio Ponoc. But no, all we have is a film that is only good but not great. Mary and the Witch’s Flower might be a disappointment, but I don’t think it needed to be anything groundbreaking in hindsight. This was merely a film that Studio Ponoc was required to make to get their feet wet so that they could construct themselves into a powerhouse studio like Ghibli. The technical aspects of it are there. All they need is a better story and pace it slower so that the characters can have some breathing room to develop. This is one step from Studio Ponoc to achieve greater things, and this film is at least a good/decent display of what is to come in the future. Whatever disappointment there is to the movie for me, it is only minor. Grade: B-