Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Jxbinha
This is one of those movies that I feel like I should have loved more than I actually did. The premise is cute, Mary herself is adorable, and the whole magical world has that familiar fantasy feeling that makes you want to explore every corner of it. But somehow, it never completely clicked with me.
I enjoyed watching Mary's adventure and the animation is undeniably beautiful, especially when the magic starts getting more creative. Still, the story felt a little too straightforward for me, and by the end I wasn't as emotionally attached to everything happening as I wanted to be.
That doesn't mean it's bad at all. It's a perfectly enjoyable fantasy movie, especially if you just want something magical and visually pretty without needing to overthink too much.
Cute protagonist, beautiful anim…
Read at the source555february
Although it didn't really bother me that this felt so similar to Studio Ghibli's works—mainly because much of the production staff was the same—it did make one thing very clear: an animation doesn't become a Studio Ghibli film simply because it shares the same art style.
What truly defines a Ghibli film is its ability to convey meaningful life lessons and explore humanity through deeper philosophical themes. Because the visuals are so similar, it's impossible not to expect that same dreamlike feeling that classic Ghibli films create. I certainly did.
Unfortunately, I found the message of this film rather shallow. None of the characters experienced any meaningful development. Instead, we simply watched the adventures of a selfish child stumbling from one coincidence to another.
Personally,…
Read at the sourceZoeyBito
Got around to watching this recently and I thoroughly enjoyed it, made by the same people who worked in ghibli who became their own studio, it really shows too and that's not a bad thing in my opinion.
It's a fun Whimsical story of Mary who becomes capable of using magic after discovering special flower seeds that she found in the forest one day, eventually she gets taken to a witch's school in the sky and there's a whole arc around it which I won't spoil here.
Visually I loved every frame of this movie and the plot was really solid to me this feels very much like Howl's moving castle meets Kiki's delivery service.
In conclusion it's a great movie with amazing animation, soundtrack and story I definitely recommend it if you want something light that can be watched during a spare even…
Read at the sourceNobody4213
Yonebyashi’s first two features worked so well because he wasn’t trying to imitate what came before, instead carving out his own, albeit very safe, but unique space within the overall Ghibli tapestry, none of the gentle realism Yonebyashi brought to his first two features is present here, but I guess, as what is intended as the first feature to establish Ghibli’s successor studio the idea was just do a basic Miyazaki pastiche, unfortunately it just comes off as Miyazaki-light, a project yearning for any sense of identity beyond stirring up those member berries with goopy-blob things and witches and flying cause member Miyazaki. Now I don’t actually hate the movie, after all Yonebayashi is still a more than competent director and a been-there done-that memorandum on popular Ghibli iconograp…
Read at the sourceemberreviews
Mary and the Witch’s Flower is a decently fun, if overall disappointing fantasy experience. There’s nothing egregiously bad or horrendously out of place, but it also pales in comparison to the Ghibli pedigree that it is so obviously pulling from. The magical world Mary enters is fun and lively, but generally lacking in a cohesive vision outside of “goopy,” and while the animation is extremely fluid and often gorgeously colored, there’s also a distinct lacking of physicality and tactileness to it, leaving it with noticeably less impact than it ought to have in certain moments. Aside from perhaps Mary’s character design, there’s nothing about this film that feels like it has its own definitive identity outside of “magic world that looks kinda like Ghibli,” which isn’t the worst thing in the…
Read at the sourceelumizu
Mary and the Witch’s Flower sits in that interesting space where it feels familiar, but also like it’s still figuring itself out while already being thrown into a full fantasy story. On the surface, it’s a classic magical adventure about a young girl accidentally stepping into a world of witches, spells, and way too many things she did not sign up for. Underneath that, there’s a secret idea about identity, control, and what happens when you’re suddenly given power you never really asked for. Mary herself doesn’t really feel like a chosen one or some destined hero. She feels more like someone who just walked into the wrong group chat and suddenly everyone expects her to understand the rules. Her journey starts off almost harmless, but it quickly turns into a situation where she has to deal…
Read at the sourcemaya_kotori
Mary and the Witch’s Flower is such a wonderfully charming film. It has that classic magical atmosphere that instantly pulls you in. Bright colors, imaginative worlds, and a sense of adventure that feels both fresh and nostalgic. The animation is gorgeous, full of life and detail, and every scene feels like it was crafted with so much love. Mary herself is an adorable and relatable character, and watching her journey unfold is genuinely fun and heartwarming. Even though the story is simple, it has a sweetness and beauty that makes it incredibly enjoyable to watch. Overall, it’s a really lovely film.
Read at the sourcemari_ari
I really liked the movie. It's perfect, you relax, it puts you in the shoes of the characters. Unlike other reviews I read, the movie didn't seem predictible to me, I had similar scenarios but I didn't expect it to be like this. Yea, Peter could have been introduced more into the story, but in the end it's a two-hour movie and so many people don't have the patience to watch a movie for two hours because "it's too long". I really think it's a good movie, at one point it made me very emotional, but usually that's how Chibli movies are for me, because they give me a vibe of childhood and my hometown.
Read at the sourcexXDAGGERHEARTXx
This is a pretty average movie story-wise but with a very high production value. There's really nothing in the story or characters that stood out or made a big impression on me, it follows a very safe template yet somehow has a disappointing ending all the same.
The animation is easily the strongest part of it as despite the middling story everything is in a lively Ghibli-esque art style. The soundtrack and voice acting are also solid, I have no complaints in that department. Despite the lack of charm it's worth a watch if you want a very safe movie that won't challenge you but will look consistently beautiful.
Read at the sourceKatherina16
Mary and the witch's flower at first glance had me intrigued and excited for something new that at least had a similar feeling to the Ghibli movies that I've loved since I was little. But by the end of it, I just ended up feeling genuinely upset. It could have been so good, but it lacked so much in it's story and character building that could of probably been solved if the movie was simply a bit longer.
Without going too in depth on how I would actually change the story to make it better, I'll point out the main issues that made the movie much less enjoyable for me.
1. The friendship between Mary and Peter goes from non-existent to BFF's without any buildup what-so-ever.
Mary just meets Peter twice by chance, he mocks her for looking like a monkey so she gets upset and then he just le…
Read at the sourceIdolxIdle
The thing about studio ghibli and disney is that though they are aimed at younger audiences, adults can enjoy the films all the same for the story and characters. And if you’re not one of those people that enjoy these studios you can at least appreciate the hard work that goes into the animation. With this movie I went in with high expectations as a studio ghibli fan and found this to be very generic, suddenly feeling like one of those people that can only appreciate the animation work that went into it, finding the pacing and story lacking.
Hiromasa Yonebayashi is the director of Mary to Majo no Hana, formerly working for studio ghibli and it shows. The animation quality and sound design isn’t lacking by any means, but to be quite honest the story was a chore to get through. Nothing abo…
Read at the sourcecici_LPS
Kay so let's start by getting one thing out of the way: One thing this film is NOT is Kiki's Delivery Service. I've seen a few people act like this is like Ponoc's Kiki's Delivery Service ripoff or something. It's not. Other than the superficial fact that both films include a witch, the two films have almost nothing in common. Unfortunately among the things that they dont have in common is the fact that Kiki's Delivery Service is good.
Mary and the Witches Flower does have its strong suites. This film looks and sounds amazing. The opening scene absolutely blew me away. Yonebayashi not only masters Miyazki's style, but he seemlessly mixes it with his own and arguably improves upon it. Between this film and When Marnie was There, I am incredibly optimistic for the future of Studio Ponoc and…
Read at the sourceAlephDaud
Mary and The Witch’s Flower is a Japanese Animated Movie and the debut feature of Animation Studio Ponoc, produced by Yoshiaki Nishimura and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, both former employees of the highly acclaimed Studio Ghibli.
The most obvious aspect of the movie is how much it wears its' Ghibli Influence on its sleeve. The style of the animation is very clearly trying to replicate classic Ghibli productions like ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’ and ‘Castle in The Sky’ as well as other fantasy series, most notably Harry Potter, with concepts like a magical school a child protagonist and environmental themes. For those that are familiar with Ghibli’s past filmography the film’s similarities may come as redundant however while it may not be ground-breaking, Mary and The Witch’s Flower is…
Read at the sourcerava
I really was expecting to enjoy this movie when I watched it, so perhaps I just had too high of expectations. However, I think there is just a serious problem with the overall message of this movie. Perhaps it was unintentional, but it's still there.
Story:
This is mainly the thing I have a problem with. In general this is a fun children's adventure story about a little girl who learns that magic is real in the most terrifying way possible and terrible things happen because of it.
I think this film would probably be quite nightmarish for some kids, but that's not the main issue.
Here is the problem I have here: obviously a lot of the "magic" in this story is an allegory for science. But I don't think it really comes off as a cautionary tale about science. What I think it really comes…
Read at the sourceitschickpea
I watched this movie a while ago, so please excuse the fact that I'm really only writing my opinion here (and not really reviewing the actual art and story line).
This anime really advertised itself as Studio Ghibli, though it really was not. Only previous staff worked on this, which really showed.
This movie felt like it was trying so hard to be Studio Ghibli movie that it just came out a mess. It was a total rip-off of all Studio Ghibli movies, and is not worth watching. I personally don't think that any part of this movie was good, except for maybe the art. On that note, the art itself was not even that good. There were a few things that they did (like the hair bristling thing that you can see in a lot of Ghibli films), that were totally copied from Miazaki's works.
If you're looking…
Read at the sourceLab_Mem_Num001
Plot: B *Mary is a curious girl who is bored at home and getting ready to go to her new school. She follows a cat into a forest and discovers a "Fly-by-Night flower" which blossoms once every seven years. Upon picking the flower up, the flower engulfs Mary in a bright blue light where a broomstick whisks Mary away to Endor College. This college resembles Hogwarts from Harry Potter as it is a school of magic. But things aren't all good here as the headmistress of the school has her own agenda and is using Mary to try and get to the flower.
Visuals: A+ *Beautiful animation that resembles those of the Studio Ghibli films. Lovely colors and really cute character designs. And the colors are gorgeous for the spellcasting.
Voice Acting: A+ *Great voice cast! I especially loved Jim Broadbent's v…
Read at the sourceVictoriaLoves
I went into this movie, after hearing constant positive comparisons to Studio Ghibli, with some very specific expectations for just what kind of film it was going to be. Like most everyone else in the world, I'm a massive Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki fan, so seeing these comparisons had me undeniably hyped. But the hype may have been a little overdone, because while I certainly didn't leave the theater disliking the film, I did leave disappointed at not having experiencing quite what I had hoped to. I knew that I had watched a film every bit as good as anything Ghibli has put out, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it hadn't been what I'd been told it would be and that I'd been somewhat misled.
I think the thing that disappointed me about the film initially was how...silly it was at ti…
Read at the source11chadwick
Mary and the Witches Flower is a charming magic story. A significant element is the wonderous and amazing nature of magic, which is captured through the beautiful animation of the spells and magic energy. Mary is given a long tour of a school she is mistaken to have enrolled in, which feels slightly unnecessary and a tad long because once she never participates in the school. Once she goes home, the school kidnaps a friend from her village. She must then go back into the magic world to rescue him. Many European stories use the same narrative structure in order to warn children about whatever danger the author felt important. It works well to show off pretty locations and as an excuse to make great animation sequences.
Mary and the Witches Flower is a good example of telling a European sty…
Read at the sourceYemi_Hikari
There is nothing wrong with being “like” studio Ghibli, which is something one can definitely say regarding ‘Mary and the ‘Witch’s Flower’. Yet, despite all of the similarities Studio Ponoc shares with Ghibli there are also differences which make said studio’s work stand out against that of Ghibli. More importantly, anybody who thinks Ghibli has a monopoly over the given style is actually unfamiliar with older works from studios such as NHK.
The style is definitely softer than a lot of the Anime we seen, yet also has a realistic appeal despite not having the level of realism as seen in some of the newer styles coming out. Instead, said style utilizes a lot of the classic elements while retaining the big eyes which represent innocence, and other similar features without those sharp angles.…
Read at the sourceHardeepSean
In my opinion, this movie could have been great but during the movie the story went downhill.
Story - 5
I think the story at the beginning started strong! It definitely had the potential to be good story-wise but as the movie went on it fell flat to me. It was almost like there was a lot of filler bits or a lot of things just added in but not really thought out properly. It's almost like they had too many ideas and they wanted to include it all but then it made some other bits of the story either making no sense or not being necessary to include.
Character - 3
Probably the biggest let down in the whole movie. As I said at the start of this review, the start of the movie was great but the story and the character development throughout the movie are the things that made me give this movi…
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