Mary and The Witch's Flower | Rotten Tomatoes

Mary and The Witch's Flower

PG

Now Playing

1 hr. 43 min.

Adventure

Fantasy

Anime

List

89%

92 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Young Mary follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest and discovers an old broomstick and the strange Fly-by-Night flower, a rare plant that blossoms once every seven years. Together, the flower and the broomstick whisk Mary above the clouds, and far away to Endor College -- a school of magic run by headmistress Madam Mumblechook and the brilliant Doctor Dee. But there are terrible things happening at the school, and when Mary tells a lie, she must risk her life to try and set things right.

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Critics Consensus

Mary and the Witch's Flower honors its creator's Studio Ghibli roots with a gentle, beautifully animated story whose simplicity is rounded out by its entrancing visuals.

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Bionic I

The movie isn't exceptional in any way but it also has no parts that are distinctly bad. There were not any parts that I think the movie stood out but that does not make it bad. Would recommend.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/13/24

Full Review

Adam E

From Studio Ponoc, founded by ex-Studio Ghibli animator and director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, comes Mary And The Witch's Flower, the story of a little girl who discovers a mysterious flower in the woods before being whisked away by a magic broomstick to another world. You might think that after Kiki's Delivery Service, it might have been a bit too close to home for Yonebayashi to take on a similar theme for his first fully solo effort but this new film manages to both evoke the best aspects of the aforementioned Studio Ghibli classic as a loving homage and also deliver something fresh and new. Mary is no prodigy, in fact, quite the opposite: although she's always very keen to help the people around her, she tends to clumsily make a mess of things. When she is apparently selected to become a witch by a black cat, she initially doesn't fare much better but gradually learns to accept who she is and prove that, with a little more determination, she can achieve the impossible. The magical land that she discovers over and through the clouds owes a bit to Harry Potter but it is also reminiscent of the spirit world in Spirited Away as it is peopled by strange, occasionally cute beings and is ruled by a witch who might not be the most trustworthy but might not be all bad either. This is a gorgeous-looking film from the get-go: its slick animation, vibrant colours and surreal character design alone make it a must-see. Furthermore, the story itself is well worth sticking around for since it only gets more and more interesting as it goes on. When Mary is shown the college campus for witches that she might get enrolled to, you expect the film to settle down into a Worst Witch type of scenario where you see Mary being revealed to be not so apt with magic and learn on the go while nearly accidentally saving the day in the end. But some darker twists are quickly revealed and the adventure becomes increasingly challenging for our main character as she deals with potentially losing her powers prematurely and, by extension, losing a friend. The villains are pretty good in that they're not the typical one-dimensional baddies you'd expect an older Disney animated feature to conjure up and there's something refreshing about a character not necessarily embracing a cool new power they've acquired just because it's cool in the end. Everyone has praised Mary And The Witch's Flower for its pretty visuals, and rightly so, but one can't help but feel that this is an underrated effort overall. It's a bit derivative, granted, but it's every bit as sweet and emotional, not to mention well written, as some of Studio Ghibli's best. Very good.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/07/23

Full Review

Collin R

Stunning visuals, adorable art, I wish I could live in this movie!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/05/22

Full Review

isla s

I enjoyed this as its another easy and fun anime film, not unlike Studio Ghibli films. I enjoy the 2d animation, which is quite charming and it has a typically playful and energetic feel to it, with very cartoonish characters. It made me think of the Worst Witch films/TV series I grew up with as a child of the 1980s. I liked that it covers themes such as overlooking bullying and self-expression. I would recommend this film, particularly to fans of (family-friendly) anime.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A lot of tropes from other films, make this almost unwatchable. That's not including the plot holes or just unimaginative storylines and ideas. This isn't diet Ghibli. This is off brand Diet Ghibli

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Pretty animations and definitely a lot of creativity, but the story lacked umpf. Greater character development and a bit more depth to the story would have made this a much better movie. Everything felt too simple.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

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Hiromasa Yonebayashi

Director

Ruby Barnhill

Mary

Louis Ashbourne Serkis

Peter

Kate Winslet

Madam Mumblechook

Jim Broadbent

Doctor Dee

Lynda Baron

Great-Aunt Charlotte

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

Gorgeously detailed pastel interiors, watercolour landscapes and imaginative grotesquery make for suitably magical spectacle. As transporting as any witch's broomstick.

Rated: 4/5

May 11, 2018

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

It may lack the originality of the best Miyazaki films, but with its heart-swelling score and exquisitely realised worlds, this is a must for Ghibli fans.

Rated: 4/5

May 7, 2018

Full Review

Robbie Collin

Daily Telegraph (UK)

This art-form has long been thought to have reached its twilight years, but Yonebayashi's film brims over with the bounce and spark of childhood.

Rated: 5/5

May 5, 2018

Full Review

Caroline Cao

Vague Visages

While it doesn’t pop with philosophical resonance like Ghibli pictures, it has enough fairy dust in its sleeves to keep you transfixed and rooting for the heroine.

Dec 14, 2023

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

[Director Hiromasa] Yonebayashi was an animator for Hayao Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli and he honors the master’s work with his sweet, playful film (adapted from a children’s novel by British author Mary Stewart) and his young heroine.

Apr 14, 2023

Full Review

Charlotte Harrison

Charlotte Sometimes Goes to the Movies

A really charming coming-of-age fantasy story that will linger with you long after watching.

Jan 5, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Young Mary follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest and discovers an old broomstick and the strange Fly-by-Night flower, a rare plant that blossoms once every seven years. Together, the flower and the broomstick whisk Mary above the clouds, and far away to Endor College -- a school of magic run by headmistress Madam Mumblechook and the brilliant Doctor Dee. But there are terrible things happening at the school, and when Mary tells a lie, she must risk her life to try and set things right.

Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Executive Producer: Daisuke Kadoya
Screenwriter: Riko Sakaguchi, Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Distributor: GKIDS
Production Co: D.N. Dream Partners, Kadokawa, Hiroshima Telecasting, Nippon Television Network, Studio Ponoc, Fukuoka Broadcasting System, Chukyo TV, Sapporo Television Broadcasting Company, Lawson Entertainment, Toho Company, Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, The Yomiuri Shimbun, Miyagi Television Broadcasting, Shizuoka Daiichi Television, Kadokawa Contents Gate Co., Ltd., Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Dentsu, Amuse, Walt Disney Company
Rating: PG (Thematic Elements|Some Action)
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Anime
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 19, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 13, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.0M
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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