Mary and the Witch's Flower is a cute anime movie about a girl who finds some flowers in the woods, which lead her into a dangerous fight against a witch and wizard headmistress and scientist in a mysterious school. The movie has a lot of really cute parts. The animation style is really great, I very much appreciated it, and the stranger character designs for the monsters. It's a bit reflective of Howl's Moving Castle (pretty sure the studio is made of people who left Ghibli). The colours are so vibrant.
Japanese voice actors are really good and it was kind of refreshing to have all the characters be English/westerners even with Japanese voice actors.
The story is alright, I liked it but there are definitely some flawed parts, like how dark the movie got out of nowhere and the overall resolution to the story. It really didn't feel like it ended that well.
I liked the characters but Mary is unbelievably impulsive and a bit thick and I felt annoyed. Peter is alright but there is almost no character development between the two and their relationship (as friends).
Worth a watch just for the cats.
I’m glad people that were involved in G Studio were involved in this studio because it had a lot of similarities with it’s characters and beautiful effects and colour that made it more better XD
A film with a somewhat monotonous beginning, but with little time a deep and complete story develops.
Beautiful animation, a somewhat childish film in parts, with a well-developed story. for me it's a great movie.
It has been good, well told and drawn
it's a good movie, I couldn't connect, too childish for me, still good.
Maybe i was too hyped to see the first studio Ponoc movie and it left me a little disappointed. The animation and art direction were amazing, but the characters felt off and the story was a little too childish. Overall it is a good movie, but i was expecting more.
This movie is a miracle it exists and I'm so glad it does. It's great to see traditional 2D animation breath this lovingly on the big screen, and at the screening I was at, with a pretty decent crowd. I hope this means a comeback for this style and promises more in the future. Sure, the story is a little derivative of countless other works, but what makes the film feel whole and worthwhile is Mary Smith. She is just too damn adorable and likable right from when you first see her. The whole story is told from her perspective, so there are some sub-plots that aren't expanded or explained, and this is the reason why. It didn't matter in the main course. The point is you're supposed to be just as confused and entranced as her, and it works. The film manages to make itself fun and unique despite it's predictable and similar tropes you see in other anime films. The cast is adorable, the story is heart-warming, and the animation is absolutely spectacular, like really, some of the best I've ever seen, even better than a couple of the Miyazaki movies. Studio Ponoc really wanted to start out strong, to prove they can continue making these movies, and God, I hope they do. If you can still find a screening in your area, go seek it out. It's seriously enjoyable for what it is.
You know that thing people do when they re-watch a movie to test if it was the initial hype or bias blinding them from objective deconstructing? Well, re-watching Mary and the Witch's Flower did the opposite, it confirmed my hype. My rating is actually going up to my perfect-tier. I had tears in my eyes during the credits. Any film that can do that automatically gets five stars, because that is so hard to do to me. I don't like to think I'm cynical towards movies, but at the same time, I think movies have to earn their emotional pay-offs, I hate being cheated. I don't at all feel cheated with Mary. I had minor problems with the script the first viewing, but on a second-view, I don't have those problems anymore. I absolutely adore this movie, I hope more people can see this. Because this was a Fathom Events, we got a sneak-preview after the movie showing concept art for Studio Ponoc's next movie. I'm so happy the movie was a success to further their studio along.
The anime movie is fine, with good rhythm and fun; although a bit too childish.
An enjoyable debut feature film from Studio Ponoc and the director of Studio Ghibli’s The Secret World of Arrietty. Beautiful animation in the style of the animators’ former studio with an engaging storyline. Hopefully this is the start of something great with Ghilbi no longer making films.
This is a fun, cute anime movie to watch. The designs and colors are well done but the main issue is that it doesn't feel wholly original. With the release of the first Ghibli movies the colors, style, design amd story were all so original which made them so great. But now it feels like most animes follow that same style and it no longer feels novel or original, so its lost some of its excitement.
It didn't quite cast a spell on me, but it was still an enjoyable bit of fantasy.
Shout by Saint PaulyBlockedParent2018-02-26T21:33:41Z
The animation was gorgeous, but the story wasn't good enough to keep me awake or make me want to try again.