Mary und die Blume der Hexen

This film is more like Studio Gibhli films than Gibhli's own output, if Earwig and the Witch is anything to go by. It combines so many classic tropes like the young girl protagonist, flying setting, witches, cats, etc. That it struggles to find its own unique voice except for visually. The animation of this film was amazingly beautiful, detailed and dynamic. Too bad the story is so thin, as Mary doesn't have much development and just outperforms everyone constantly.

Didn't look into this film deeply enough to find out it's not a "real" Ghibli, and that didn't impede upon my watch. The animation is beautiful, the characters are visually unique and fun, and the story and setting held my attention the full length of the film. My only complaint would be that this is definitely a movie for kids, and there wasn't any complexity or depth that would make me keen to rewatch this several times. Still a good watch, and one I'd definitely recommend!

Studio Ponoc, heir apparent to Studio Ghibli, makes a decent start with Mary & the Witch's Flower.

Animation is lush and gorgeous to look at, and is very reminiscent of the work we're used to from Studio Ghibli - and as anyone who's familiar with Ghibli's work can tell you, that is a pretty high bar to meet. I saw the English dubbed version, and the voice acting was excellent as well - especially Ruby Barnhill as Mary. Background score was quite good too.

Story, however, was a bit disappointing. Not saying that it was bad, it just felt a bit devoid of heart and there were quite a few plot holes which were hard to overlook. Character motivations were hard to explain, and the wizarding world Mary stumbles into feels empty, though it is supposed to be a thriving world. Then again, I complain because I was expecting something of Ghibli standards.

It was a fun movie to experience, and I'm glad Studio Ponoc exists - not only because I expect bigger and better things from them in the future, but also because something as beautiful as the tradition of Ghibli animated movies needs be kept alive.

7/10

A lot of of low rated reviews based on the film being a Ghibli rip off, but it was created by many of THE SAME ANIMATORS from Ghibli so it is to be expected to be similar.

Anyway the film was decent, visually stunning great soundtrack and very creative. Could have been a better story and better character development but it's based on a book anyway so they couldn't really help that.

Looking forward to seeing more films from Studio Ponoc, they seem to have picked up from where Hayao Miyazaki left off.

Worth a watch.

Nothing compares to studio Ghibli. Disney, Pixar. Nothing. They still did classic animation and did it beautifully. Let this wonderful little film stand on its own merits. Yes, it's obviously influenced by Ghibli. So what? It's fun and fast and deserves to be seen.