Short answers, pulled from the story.
Mary and the Witch's Flower follows Mary Smith, who discovers a flower called fly-by-night that gives her witch powers for one night. It carries her to Endor College, where Headmistress Madam Mumblechook and Doctor Dee kidnap her friend Peter to get the flower's remaining bulbs.
Hiromasa Yonebayashi directed Mary and the Witch's Flower from a screenplay he co-wrote with Riko Sawaguchi. It was the first feature from his newly founded studio, Studio Ponoc.
Mary and the Witch's Flower opened theatrically in Japan on the 8th of July 2017 through distributor Toho. GKIDS gave it a wider North American release on the 19th of January 2018, and Altitude released it UK-wide on the 4th of May 2018.
Box Office Mojo reported a worldwide gross of $42.2 million, made up of $2.4 million in the United States and Canada and $38.8 million elsewhere, including $27.6 million in Japan. JPBox-Office put the worldwide total at $41.8 million.
Mary and the Witch's Flower is based on The Little Broomstick, a 1971 novel by Mary Stewart. Walt Disney Productions had acquired the film rights to the book months after its publication, though its own 1980 adaptation attempt was shelved.
Hana Sugisaki voices Mary Smith, alongside a cast that includes Yūki Amami, Fumiyo Kohinata, Hikari Mitsushima, Jiro Sato, Kenichi Endō, Eri Watanabe, and Shinobu Otake. The English dub stars Ruby Barnhill, Kate Winslet, and Jim Broadbent.