Mary and The Witch's Flower

GKIDS | Release Date: January 19, 2018

6.8	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 70 Ratings

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AaronchakraJan 20, 2018

Great visuals and throwbacks to a simpler time. However the story felt short and rushed especially the second act which was practically missing. The story didn't do enough to establish suspense and went to from one event to another.

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RedShiftXIIIJul 21, 2018

Entering the great Miyazaki's realm of story telling was a bold move by director Yonebayashi, but sadly, I don't think he quite met the challenge. With that said, the movie is neither bad, nor is it good; it just is OK. It's lesson is a bitEntering the great Miyazaki's realm of story telling was a bold move by director Yonebayashi, but sadly, I don't think he quite met the challenge. With that said, the movie is neither bad, nor is it good; it just is OK. It's lesson is a bit refreshing (at least what I believe it means) and one that I think is lost in translation. On the surface, it's simply to take life into your own hands and not depend on luck, or in this case, magic. I believe there is a bit more depth than that; perhaps, the movie is meant to represent a somewhat growing movement that exists within Japan, of young adults moving back to the countryside and shedding themselves of their hyperactive city lives, which are becoming less and less dependable at creating careers and opportunity for the new generations joining the labor force. I get this sense from their connection of magic to science where the magical world is a bustling city which seems to have no problem experimenting on the outside world - valuing life less. In this sense, and with this perspective, there was a lot of potential for the movie. Sadly, I don't think it's atmosphere, in supporting the message, really lived up to the Miyazaki standard. It felt empty despite the colorful art. Then again, I just might be reading into the message too deeply and the lighthearted attempt in atmosphere perfectly matched a relatively shallow message. The only interesting thing about the characters is skin deep; the characters often take peculiar forms, but their motivations and their personalities are about as deep as a puddle, save maybe Mary herself. I admit, I haven't found any deeper meaning to Mary's hate of her hair beyond the obvious self doubt proven pointless, but I think there's something I'm missing given later references. Creating interesting and magical worlds that serve the narrative is a gift of Miyazaki and I find it sad that Yonebayashi seems to have recycled the art without even remotely capturing the spirit. While I'm not against mimicking the successful, I feel like Miyazaki wasn't the only story teller Yonebayashi "borrowed" from; Harry Potter comes to mind. While J. K. Rowling doesn't have a monopoly on the magical school, the world here feels empty and largely token. The setting and the supporting characters/creatures that helped create it, were all nothing but unimaginative plot devices, or even worse, meaningless artifacts.

Again, I might be expecting too much based on my love of Miyazaki, but standards are standards, and I think if you enjoy this sort of fairy tale, so well explored by Miyazaki, I'm not sure you'll be impressed by this movie. I believe he took an interesting perspective of a Japanese social phenomenon, but failed to really turn it into a cohesive original-feeling universal message.… Expand