Mary and the Witch's Flower
In 1971, Mary Stewart published a children's book titled The Little Broomstick. A few months after its release, Walt Disney Productions acquired the film rights to the story. By 1980, Mel Shaw and director Wolfgang Reitherman planned an animated feature adaptation. Studio management under CEO Ron W. Miller rejected the project as too similar to Bedknobs and Broomsticks. They wanted their animation department to produce more ambitious films like The Black Cauldron instead. The novel sat dormant for decades while Disney shifted focus to other projects. No one attempted to bring the story to screen until Studio Ponoc arrived on the scene.
On the 15th of December 2016, Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Yoshiaki Nishimura held a press conference in Tokyo. Yonebayashi had previously worked with Ghibli on When Marnie Was There and Arrietty. He announced that this was his first movie since leaving Studio Ghibli. Producer Toshio Suzuki notified him about the dissolution of the Ghibli Production Department earlier that year. Nishimura felt stimulated by overseas creators when he attended the Academy Awards venue with The Tale of Princess Kaguya. He decided to create a fantasy with a cheerful girl moving around. The new studio began work immediately after the announcement. They aimed to prove they could handle dynamic animation without relying on the old Ghibli structure.
A bored girl named Mary Smith moves into her Great Aunt Charlotte's northern English country estate. She tries making herself useful through chores but fails repeatedly. A local boy named Peter teases her for her clumsiness and wild red hair. Tib and Gib, Peter's cats, lead Mary to some mysterious glowing flowers in the garden. The gardener Zebedee identifies the flowers as fly-by-night. Legend says witches covet the flower for its magical power. The next day, Gib disappears from the property. Tib leads Mary to an old broomstick where she accidentally bursts a fly-by-night bulb. The bulb releases magical power, making the broomstick come to life. It enables Mary to ride it like a witch toward Endor College.
Headmistress Madam Mumblechook assumes Mary is a new pupil with Tib as her familiar. She introduces Mary to Doctor Dee, the college's renowned chemistry teacher. Mary finds herself able to perform advanced spells such as invisibility. Madam and Dee become convinced that Mary is a prodigy because of her performance and red hair. They imprison her in their transformation laboratory after she admits her magic comes from fly-by-night. Mary discovers that Dee has been experimenting on animals including Gib. He transforms them into fantastical creatures against their will. The experiment fails again when they try to turn Peter into a warlock. It traps him within a gelatinous monster instead of granting him powers.
Composer Takatsugu Muramatsu scored the film after working on When Marnie Was There. Joshua Messick participated in the score recording as one of the world's leading performers of the hammered dulcimer. The theme song Rain was performed by Sekai no Owari. Voice actors were announced on the 13th of April 2017 for the Japanese version. Ruby Barnhill, Kate Winslet, and Jim Broadbent starred in the English dub directed by Giles New. Production took place in London during July and August 2017. The team recorded the dub at an Animation is Film festival premiere in Los Angeles on the 23rd of October 2017. They used traditional animation techniques throughout the entire production process.
Mary and the Witch's Flower opened theatrically in Japan on the 8th of July 2017 across 458 screens. Altitude Film Sales acquired worldwide rights at the Berlin International Film Festival. Madman Entertainment secured rights for Australia and New Zealand with a premiere at Madman Anime Festival in Melbourne on the 5th of November 2017. GKIDS distributed the film within North America starting with a one-week Oscar qualifying run on the 1st of December 2017. A wider release followed on the 19th of January 2018. Altitude confirmed a special holding at selected Vue Cinemas on the 10th of April 2018 before its official UK-wide release on the 4th of May 2018. Home video releases occurred between March and September 2018 across multiple regions including DVD and Blu-ray formats.
The film grossed $42.2 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo figures. It earned $27.6 million in Japan alone during its theatrical run. In the United States and Canada it made $2.4 million total. Critics gave mixed but generally positive reviews about the visual style. Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com rated it three stars out of four. She noted that the lack of inner conflict in Mary might make the story feel slight despite being transportive. Moira Macdonald of The Seattle Times called it a joy to look at even if the screenplay needed polish. The opening weekend in Japan grossed ¥428 million which exceeded When Marnie Was There's first weekend performance. The film received attention for continuing a remarkable legacy of animated fantasy storytelling.
Common questions
Who directed Mary and the Witch's Flower?
Hiromasa Yonebayashi directed Mary and the Witch's Flower. He announced this project on the 15th of December 2016 as his first movie since leaving Studio Ghibli.
When was Mary and the Witch's Flower released in Japan?
Mary and the Witch's Flower opened theatrically in Japan on the 8th of July 2017 across 458 screens. The film grossed ¥428 million during its opening weekend which exceeded When Marnie Was There's first weekend performance.
What is the plot of Mary and the Witch's Flower about?
The story follows a bored girl named Mary Smith who moves into her Great Aunt Charlotte's northern English country estate. She accidentally bursts a fly-by-night bulb that makes an old broomstick come to life and takes her to Endor College where she discovers magic.
How much money did Mary and the Witch's Flower make worldwide?
Mary and the Witch's Flower grossed $42.2 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo figures. It earned $27.6 million in Japan alone during its theatrical run while making $2.4 million total in the United States and Canada.
Who voiced Mary in the English dub of Mary and the Witch's Flower?
Ruby Barnhill starred as Mary in the English dub directed by Giles New. Kate Winslet and Jim Broadbent also starred in the English version alongside Ruby Barnhill.