'SUP, NERDS?!
I've been living in the movie theatre, hitting up every Fathom Event that could possibly exist during the month of January. Although I'm only now starting to feel some film fatigue, I had to see Mary and the Witch's Flower on the big screen, making it my 4th visit to Regal in a week.
Mary is Studio Ponoc's debut film. Studio Ghibli hasn't produced any animated films since 2014, which incited the formation of Ponoc by young ex-Ghibli employees. It wasn't until recently that I've noticed Ghibli's neglect to release something new. At least in America, I've also noticed a huge push in merchandise and special showings of fan-favorite Miyazaki films.
Perhaps Ghibli is spending their sweet time to plan an amusement park? Who knows. I'm glad Ponoc is continuing the legacy and bringing us more quality entertainment.
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| Can we throw a little love towards Porco Rosso?? It seems to be often forgotten by Ghibli fans... |
Frankenfilm
My general impression of Mary and the Witch's Flower is that Studio Ponoc took many aspects from a bunch of amazing movies and mooshed it into one. They certainly brought a lot of Studio Ghibli with them, looking at the character and background designs.
They took elements of Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky and Howl's Moving Castle but turned it into Harry Potter. I don't think this necessarily means there is a lack of originality, but I like to think of Mary as Ponoc's own form of cultural assimilation. I do have expectations that their next film will be a little bit more of their own.
A Rarity
What I really liked about Mary is that the entire piece is well-balanced in various ways. As a firm believer in traditional, hand-drawn animation, Mary was able to create an illusion that the entire movie was hand-drawn.
There are a handful of effects that I could distinguish as computer graphics, but it didn't distract or look out of place. There were probably a dozen more bits that I didn't even catch, but the gratuitous use of or poor quality computer graphics certainly can ruin an animated picture.
Technically a Children's Movie...
I was a bit skeptical going into Mary because it was heavily advertised as a children's movie. The thought of kids crawling everywhere around me as I watch a cartoon is horrific! Luckily, there was only one family and their children were more amusing than anything. It was great to see one kid telling their weeb parents, "Mama, I'm getting tired. Can I go to bed?" and the other, "Is this real?" during a dark scene, proceeding to sob.
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| If I recall correctly, it was during this scene that kid started crying... |
If you want a plot summary, I'm not going to bother. You have Google. As a children's movie Mary is equally fun to watch as an adult. Usually children's movies feel very preachy and their messages are forced, but I think Mary's messages were subtle and quite agreeable.
The Messages
I sat after the credits to watch the studio's commentary and it's like we read each other's mind. Ponoc states that their main goal was to create an antagonist that isn't inherently evil, someone with a different perspective that didn't match Mary's. Madame Mumblechook and Dr. Dee never express any sort of bad intent and are simply focused on creating a better magic college with this rare flower. Perhaps the power of the witch's flower twisted their hearts as they obsessed over it for many years, but their goals always remain clear.
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| On a related note, I'm really glad she ended up saving a boy... I like to call them "handsome in distress" |
Mary overcomes her low self-esteem as she acquires temporary magical powers from the flower. Early in the film, she consistently rags on how she has no discernible talent and how awful her hair is. We get to see Mary's confidence grow and ego swell as she is deemed "prodigious witch" by the college.
As she realizes her magic is temporary, Mary waits for the right opportunity to use it and relies on her human sensibilities to persevere. I think the film portrays a message that you can be great by trusting your instinct and own abilities.
Worth It
Even though most adults would be turned off by an animated children's movie and many anime fans criticize it for being too similar to Studio Ghibli's films, Mary and the Witch's Flower is worth your time. Never did it feel childish or immature, the story is solid and the characters all have interesting personalities and clear motives. It's a beautiful animated film in en era where "animated" means CGI by default.
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| Mary beckons you to watch her film! |
My only complaints come down to weird weeaboo issues I have. The story is based off of Mary Stewart's children's novel The Little Broomstick. Studio Ponoc kept the setting in England like the novel, however I felt there were a few interactions between the characters that I felt were more culturally Japanese than English-- a minor claim that's not worth debating.
Have any of you gotten around to watching Mary and the Witch's Flower? Do you feel it's too similar to any Ghibli films? Any particular characters you love or hate?
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