Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Writer: Riko Sakaguchi, Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Screenplay) Mary Stewart (Novel)
Starring: (Voice Talents) Hana Suhisaki, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Yuki Amami, Fumiyo Kohinata, Hikari Mitshushima, Jiro Sato
Plot: Based on “The Little Broomstick” by Mary Stewart, a strange flower grants a girl magic powers.
Tagline – The magic returns.
Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Magical Family Film
Story: Mary and the Witch’s Flower starts as Mary moves to live with her Great0Aunt Charlotte outside of a forest, Mary being interested in learning more after being told she can’t help around the house, head into the forest to follow two cats, which lead her to some mystical flowers, left from an incident with a witch in the past.
The flower takes Mary to the witching school run by Madam Mumblechook who shows her around school including meeting the genius Doctor Dee. Mary will learn that Madam Mumblechook is trying to locate the flower which will give her the greatest power in the witching community, with only Mary being able to learn the power to fight back.
Thoughts on Mary and the Witch’s Flower
Characters – Mary is a clumsy young girl that is getting used to living in a new village waiting for her parents to arrive, she just wants to stay busy, which sees her heading into the forest finding the secrets of a witch, which will put her to battle against an evil mistress that wants to flowers that grant power to witches. She must learn her place in the world and who is worth saving with her new power. Peter is a young boy from the village that wants to be friends, only to find himself being used as a hostage from the evil Mumblechook. Madam Mumblechook runs the school, which is for witches from across the world, she is looking for ultimate power and is waiting for the return of the mysterious flower with that extra power. Doctor Dee is using the science in the world to mix with magic to gain the new power that is being searched for by Mumnlechook.
Story – The story follows a young girl that finds herself transported to a world of witches, which ill give her new powers that she must learn to control to stop an evil force from trying to use the power to take over the witching world. this is adapted from a Mary Stewart book, which does give it a western feel with an Eastern style which does show how the storytelling can be combined to make an enjoyable story of learning about extra power in the world. when it comes to the witching side of the story everything is easy to follow and never feels like the threat is as big as it could be, which is a shame, but it is family friendly which is unlike the usual for a Japanese animated styled movie.
Adventure/Fantasy – The adventure does take Mary to a new world, one she never thought she could visit, one with witches and spells which turn unwanted visited into creatures, this fantasy side of the film plays perfectly into the adventure side of the film with witches and spells happening throughout.
Settings – The film uses a couple of main settings, the first is the new country home that Mary is living in, one that she isn’t used to, while the other world in the fantasy witching world.
Animation – The animation being used in the film does have the look which does make it feel slightly older in style, rather than being on the level of the modern day animations that we are used to seeing.
Scene of the Movie – Reverse the spell.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The threat doesn’t feel that big.
Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining animation with plenty going on within the story, it is one that can be enjoyed by all.
Overall: Animation that puts a spell on you.
Rating
