Mary & The Witch's Flower

Mary & The Witch's Flower came out of creative desperation. A desperation to keep the spirit of a defunct studio alive.

When Studio Ghibli closed its doors in 2014 with the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata (it's kind of back now in name only for Miyazaki's upcoming supposed final film How Do You Live? - yes, he came out of retirement again) it left many of its young talent without work, especially when faced with the prospect of melding into the often creatively stifling world of modern anime production. So Hiromasa Yonebayashi, director of previous Ghibli hits such as Arrietty and When Marine Was There, along with several other key collaborators founded their own animation company - Studio Ponoc. And Mary & The Witch's Flower is the first fruit of their labour. My big question going in was "can Studio Ponoc do enough to distance themselves from Studio Ghibli to make their own distinctive mark?" While I don't think Mary & The Witch's Flower is quite that film, it is a valiant first effort with more than enough appeal to delight audiences of all ages.

Before I get on to answering that question in further detail my review, I want to get one thing out of the way - I ended up seeing the dubbed one. While there were plenty of Japanese language versions playing in and around Manchester throughout May, me and my partner had bookmarked to see the film at our local cinematic haven, The Savoy, at the end of the month. It was a bit of a gamble as to what version of the film they would be showing; it was advertised as a morning children's matinee performance across the recent Bank Holiday weekend (there were several couples without children at our screening, mind). So I shouldn't have been surprised that we ended up seeing the dubbed version. I say this now because I usually opt for the Japanese language version - nothing against dubs, a lot of hard work goes into them, but I prefer to get the authentic experience. There are exceptions to this of course (Howl's Moving Castle, I think, is vastly superior in English) and I didn't feel disappointed that we saw this version.

Mary & The Witch's Flower is a beautifully rendered and gentle film that sets Studio Ponoc up for great things

The great British summer holidays are rolling on and young Mary Smith is bored. She has moved to the country to live with her great-aunt in a grand old house and awaits the arrival of her parents and for school to start so she can make some new friends. Eager to help, Mary finds that she just keeps on getting in everyone's way. However, everything changes when Mary stumbles across the existence of magic that soon turns her world upside down. If you have been following Hiromasa Yonebayashi's works, this set-up should come as no surprise. All of his films are adapted from British children's novels (this particular film was based on The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart) which also shines through in the films. Arrietty (Ghibli's take on The Borrowers) and When Marnie Was There all have very strong connections back to British literature, landscapes and the archetypal of characters that fill his world. As a British person, it is kind of interesting viewing how filmmakers from another country interpret our culture. Perhaps it's even ... huh ... appropriative... That aside, Yonebayashi crafts a beautifully intricate world that feels like a storybook come to life. It's in this aspect that the core of Ghibli is very much alive. Mary's new home is a gorgeous piece of design work, from the rolling green hills to the post-card perfect village to the creaking of the house she now find herself living in.

Mary as well is a brilliantly realised character. In fact, the filmmakers are so confident of this that she is the face of Studio Ponoc's logo! She feels like a wonderful amalgamation of previous Ghibli heroes rolled into one but with enough spark to make her stand on her own. Mary's English voice-actor, Ruby Barnhill (from Spielberg's adaptation of The BFG), is absolutely brilliant. Maintaining her Cheshire twang (she grew up in Knutsford), she adds a real sense of local character to Mary. She pouts and moans but can also be very funny, charming and intelligent. The range of emotions the character goes through is enough for many adult actors, especially if they are not trained in voice acting, but Barnhill manages to pull it off in a very emotionally effective way. I always think in loosely plotted films, such as Spirited Away, you need a clear emotional anchor to the story - a character who goes on a journey and changes because of it. Otherwise, it's just random nonsense. Ponoc clearly understood this lesson from one of Miyazaki's greatest films and imbues this into Mary and the overall narrative of the film.

In true Ghibli fashion, Mary follows a cat across the countryside into a mysterious forest where she discovers a broomstick and a strange plant called the Fly-By-Night. From here, it's an Alice-down-the-rabbit-hole kind of story as Mary is whisked into the sky via the magic of the plant bringing the broom back into animated life. She discovers a whole other magical world in another dimension, encountering the strange establishment of Endor College - a school of magic run by Madam Mumblechock and Doctor Dee. Just when you think the film is going to take a Harry Potter turn, Mary & The Witch's Flower turns into a cracking little mystery. In some ways, Mary & The Witch's Flower succeeds in areas of magic education where the young boy wizard's franchise often lagged. With the medium of animation, Mary goes pretty deep into some weird imagery and the visuals are lot more unbounded that a standard Potter story. Here is where the ex-Ghibli alumni really get to flex their creative muscle. Even if Mary's plot doesn't quite have heart of Howl or Spirited Away it just about matches their boundless creativity.

Armed with arreting visuals such as above, Mary & The Witch's Flower builds on Ghibli's foundation of stunning artistry

Mary & The Witch's Flower has an excellent cast and maintains dubbing company GKIDS' usual high standards. There are nice touches, such as the use of strong regional accents throughout, that help to keep the vaguely eccentric British atmosphere throughout the film. It was just nice to hear accents that weren't mostly London based, as is often the case with big budgeted anime dubs with a vaguely English setting. The actual performances are all great though out, it has to be said. Kate Winslet and Jim Broadbent are wonderfully over-the-top as the antagonists. Incidentally, I like how Ponoc are continuing Ghibli's penchant for creating flawed and mis-guided "villains" as opposed to straight up bad-guys. A particular delight is Ewen Bremner (i.e. Spud from Trainspotting) as Mr. Flanagan, a Mr. Tumnus-esque figure who, inadvertently guides and protects Mary on her travels around the world. There's plenty of hijinks, twists and turns to be had with the film and while some of the plot elements are clearly sign-posted, there's enough intrigue to keep you going. What really holds it together is the strength of Mary's character and how she reacts to the world and events around her.

Mary & The Witch's Flower is a lovely little adventure. With gorgeous animation, an engaging plot, sweet characters and enough of that old Ghibli magic, the film just about stands on its own. I think Ponoc have a long way to go and I hope they start to go in their own unique direction but there's enough good will and creativity to get Mary passed the dreaded label of "Ghibli-lite". Even if it can't quite hit the high-water mark of Ghibli's very best, there's enough heart and soul in this gorgeous and gentle film to make me think that the best is yet to come from this nascent studio. And long may they run.