Mary and the Witch’s Flower 2017

     This animated film is based on the book The Little Broomstick, Mary and the Witch’s Flower by British author Mary Stewart published in 1971.  Mary has recently moved to the country to live in the village of Red Manor with her Great-Aunt Charlotte.  Her parents will be arriving later.   She feels lonely and she doesn’t think there are any other friends for her to hang out with because it’s summer.  She follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest.  She discovers an old broomstick and the strange Fly-by-Night flower.  It’s a rare plant that blossoms only once every seven years and only in this forest.  The broomstick takes Mary to Endor College.  It’s a rare school of magic run by Madam Mumblechook and Doctor Dee.  Things are happening at the school that need to be changed.  Mary may be the only one able to make the changes?

     There is a LOT of fantasy in this film and some of the scenes may be scary for younger children.  Doctor Dee turns many animals into other types of creatures.  None of the animals are happy about the changes!!  Mary feel like she fit into her new neighborhood?  She has wild red hair and the only person her age that she knows is Peter.    

 

103 min, animation directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Giles New with the voices of Hana Sugisaki, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Yuki Amami, Fumiyo Kohinata, Hikari Mitsushima, Jiro Sato, Ken’ichi Endo, Eri Watanabe, Shinobu Otake, Ikue Otani, Ruby Barnhill, Kate Winslet.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 88% critic 70% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Metacritic 75 out of 100 6.9 user score with 51 reviews, Common Sense Media age 8+, positive messages 4*, role models 4*, violence and scariness 3*, Empire Online 4* out of 5*, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 301 reviews, Guardian 4* out of 5*, Telegraph 5* out of 5*.

Special Note:  This is the debut film of Studio Ponoc.  Hiromasa Yonebayashi is a former colleague of the artists at Studio Ghibli.  He worked on Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Onyo.  He directed When Marnie Was There and The Secret World of Arrietty.