Today’s quick review: Mary and the Witch’s Flower. While staying with her great-aunt in a small British village, Mary Smith, a helpful but clumsy girl, discovers a rare flower growing in the woods that awakens a magical power within her. Mary also stumbles upon an enchanted broomstick that carries her to Endor College, a school of magic floating in the sky, where the headmistress, Madam Mumblechook, takes an interest in Mary’s supposed talents.
Mary and the Witch’s Flower is a Japanese animated children’s fantasy adventure. The movie follows its young protagonist into an imaginative magical world far removed from Mary’s humdrum life. Mary and the Witch’s Flower features gorgeous animation, a moving score, and a pleasant blend of fantasy elements. However, the movie is missing the degree of mastery that would let it stand shoulder-to-shoulder with similar films from Studio Ghibli.
The flaws in Mary and the Witch’s Flower are subtle but pervasive. Mary and her friend Peter are underdeveloped as characters. Their traits are penciled in but never made fully real. Thanks in part to the flower’s potency, many of Mary’s victories feel unearned. The film also struggles to sync up its emotional beats with the twists of its plot, robbing the story of some of its impact and forcing the soundtrack to pick up the slack.
Still, in spite of these flaws, Mary and the Witch’s Flower gets enough right to be an enjoyable watch. Its attentive animation and lush backgrounds make it a visual treat. Its fanciful style of fantasy has a nice sense of wonder to it, even if its ideas are not always used to their fullest. The story has enough substance to it to feel worthwhile, and it picks up quite a bit of momentum by the end.
Watch Mary and the Witch’s Flower when you’re in the mood for something light, beautiful, and wholesome. It’s missing the extra spark that would make it a classic, but even with its shortcomings it’s a high-quality film. For a surreal children’s fantasy with enduring quality, check out Spirited Away. For a heartwarming story about a young witch, check out Kiki’s Delivery Service.
6.8 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for solid animation and creative fantasy, let down by a lack of storytelling mastery.