Mary and The Witch's Flower
GKIDS | Release Date: January 19, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
22
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMay 12, 2018
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. Read full review
95
The VergeTasha Robinson
Mary and the Witch’s Flower doesn’t just borrow elements from Ghibli, it feels like a complete continuation of the studio’s work. It’s a welcome relief for every animation fan who thought that particular era of Japanese animation had, after 30 years, quietly come to a close. Read full review
90
Village VoiceBilge EbiriJan 18, 2018
Mary and the Witch’s Flower and its eye-popping cavalcade of creations and colors speak not to the shock and awe of technology but to the can-do magic of human achievement. Read full review
87
TheWrapRay GreeneDec 8, 2017
A lovingly crafted fantasy on an epic scale, Mary and the Witch’s Flower is a film about transformation made by filmmakers in transition. Read full review
85
UproxxKeith PhippsJan 18, 2018
The results suggest that Ponoc was guided by a single principle: If Studio Ghibli won’t make Studio Ghibli films anymore, then we will. Which is to say Mary and the With’s Flower is delightful — a visually stunning fairy tale filled with whimsical ideas and warmly realized characters — but also familiar. Read full review
81
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpJan 20, 2018
We all look for magic in the world around us, and when we do the world routinely lets us down. Movies like this remind us that there’s magic, and life, in art—and perhaps especially in animation. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeJun 10, 2022
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. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeJun 10, 2022
It’s here in the movie’s more fantastical details that Yonebayashi’s imagination runs free — and Studio Ponoc’s potential shines brightest. The world they’ve created may not be logical, but it is intuitive, as Mary adapts to whatever hallucinatory wonder or obstacle the filmmakers can throw at her Read full review
80
EmpireBen TravisApr 30, 2018
Yonebayashi pays perfect tribute to Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli with this bewitching and visually dazzling adventure. Studio Ponoc is off to a flying start. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangNov 30, 2017
If Yonebayashi’s movie doesn’t have the visual richness and imaginative depth of Ghibli masterpieces like Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away,” its emotional warmth and wondrously inviting hand-drawn imagery carry on that company’s proud tradition. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweNov 29, 2017
Director Yonebayashi Hiromasa (When Marnie Was There) returns with a more lighthearted anime feature in Mary and the Witch’s Flower, a stirring adventure most suitable for tweens and teens. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenAug 16, 2018
Mary and the Witch’s Flower turns homage into a richly rewarding adventure. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyJan 19, 2018
Conflict doesn’t have to be some huge melodramatic thing, but the total lack of inner conflict in Mary might be why Mary and the Witch’s Flower — as transportive and entertaining as it is — feels a little slight. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldJan 18, 2018
Mary and the Witch’s Flower isn’t quite a masterpiece.... But it’s a joy to look at: a visual adventure, and a continuation of a remarkable legacy Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJan 16, 2018
It’s a movie with no greater ambition than to charm and occasionally delight. Mission accomplished. Read full review
70
SlateSam AdamsJan 20, 2018
The world is not so full of beauty that one can wave away Mary’s visual majesty, especially now that its hand-drawn style is nearly a thing of the past. But the flaws in its writing are harder to overlook. Read full review
70
IGNWilliam BibbianiJan 18, 2018
The familiar story and underdeveloped characters aren't nearly as magical as the animation, but there's still a lot to enjoy in Mary and the Witch's Flower, even if it's not Hiromasa Yonebayashi's best. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJan 18, 2018
The spell Mr. Yonebayashi casts is effective, but also ephemeral. It’s minor magic. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerFeb 14, 2018
Visually, this is a charming addition to Japanese interpretation of pastoral England, with the overall vision of manor houses and rural idylls feeling perfectly bucolic. There are moments when some elements of culture or set dressing ring a little false. It's in little details. Read full review
67
The Film StageDaniel SchindelNov 29, 2017
Mary and the Witch’s Flower is safe, containing no assertion of Ponoc as an artistic force beyond its overall technical accomplishment. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 29, 2018
Like taking a peek into the many influences Rowling synthesized into her Potter world. Read full review
63
Slant MagazinePeter GoldbergJan 15, 2018
This is a film about the adolescent pangs to belong that also mines its tale of magic and malevolence for an imaginative allegory about the excesses of scientific inquiry. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawJun 10, 2022
The film has charm as well as a certain deja vu for audiences, although for me it didn’t quite have the distinction of Marnie. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaJan 16, 2018
What Mary lacks in the resources to visually gobsmack, it partially makes up for with its unstoppable titular ginger, whose empathy, depressive streak, and enviably fierce eyebrows place her shoulder to shoulder with any Ghibli heroine. Read full review
58
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJan 18, 2018
Mary and the Witch’s Flower may not be a great film — it occasionally struggles just to be a good one — but it’s a convincing proof-of-concept, and that might be more important in the long run. Read full review
50
The PlaylistAlly JohnsonFeb 1, 2018
It’s thrilling to have any semblance of Studio Ghibli back in our theaters and Mary and the Witch’s Flower will momentarily satisfy that hunger, but will leave you wanting more. Read full review
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