Mary and the Witch's Flower is the first feature film made by Studio Ponoc and the third film directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who previously worked for Studio Ghibli. In it a young girl, Mary Smith, has moved to the countryside and is out exploring one day when she stumbles upon a mystical flower, which has the power to grant her magical abilities. She manages to bewitch a broom, which takes her to the Endor College for witches.

Studio Ponoc was founded by former Studio Ghibli employees and a lot of its animators worked for Ghibli as well. And this is reflected in the quality of animation. This is some of the most beautiful, vibrant, lush, detailed and gorgeous animation I've ever seen. The character and set designs are amazing to look at, everything moves with graze and effortless fluidity, and there isn't a hair out of place, figuratively speaking.

The musical score is also nice, the voice actors are extremely talented and the whole film has this warm, inviting, fairytale-esque feeling to it.

Which is why, it's my sad duty to inform you that the script is rather awful. I have not read the original novel, The Little Broomstick, but I'm somewhat familiar with Mary Stewart, the author. Studio Ponoc has essentially taken a quintessentially British children's novel and turned its mood, its atmosphere on its head, adding in a lot of unneeded anime tropes and visuals. Studio Ghibli had this same problem with Tales from Earthsea. It was an okay film on its own, but it felt like a huge betrayal for all fans of the original Earthsea books.

I also don't enjoy the fact that Mary does not learn a thing throughout the course of the film. By the end she's essentially the same character she was in the beginning. And that's a big no-no in stories aimed at children.

Mary and the Witch's Flower is not the worst anime film I've ever seen, but it is certainly lacking in depth, heart and message. Technically superb, but empty on the inside.

One of Studio Ghibli's most wonderful films was "Kiki's Delivery Service"---an anime movie about a young witch who goes into the world to find herself. In many ways, "Mary and the Witch's Flower" is like taking Kiki from that classic movie and sending her to Hogwarts! Seriously.

When the story begins, Mary seems to be a pretty ordinary young girl. However, when she meets a black cat in the forest and finds a broom, something very strange happens....a weird slime pours from a flower onto her hands and instantly she can fly using the broom. She has no idea what she's doing but soon she and the cat are in a far away magical land with talking animals as well as a witch's school....Endor! But things aren't all happy and laughter there....and after a while she isn't sure who to trust. What's next? Well, it's a bit like "Frankenstein"...but you'll have to see for yourself.

This film is based on Mary Stewart's 1971 story "The Little Broomstick"....which came out long before Kiki or Harry Potter....so although similar to the other stories, it is an original as well. I have never read this book nor had I heard of it before seeing the movie.

So it is any good? Well, the animation quality is excellent and although it looks just like a Studio Ghibli movie, it's instead made by a different Japanese studio. I liked the film quite a bit. I only really have one quibble...the resolution to the story was very fast and not especially satisfying.

Mary Smith lives with her Great Aunt Charlotte in an English estate. She follows two cats into the woods and finds a strange flower. The gardener tells her that it's the Witch's Flower. It an elusive plant which blooms only once every seven years and he's never seen in person. The cats are neighbor boy Peter's named Tib and Gib. Tib leads Mary to a broom buried in a tree. Tib gives Mary a flower which ignites her magical powers and the broom carries her to Endor College for witches. She is met by groundskeeper Flanagan. The college is run by Madam Mumblechook and Doctor Dee.

Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi is the key animator in many of the Studio Ghibli's biggest hits. This movie is infused with many of those flavors. It is very reminiscent of Spirited Away, a girl stumbling into a magical world. It's its biggest advantage and its most distracting. This is a big pot of various stories that have been done before. I also do wish that the characters be Japanese rather than being English. It needs to step away from the Harry Potter comparison. It's an old time English characterization anyways. Mary and Peter have a nice connection. Their self-sacrifices and willingness to save the other is very compelling. They could use a bit more screen time before Mary finds the broomstick. Overall, the sense of wonder from Ghibli is still intact and this is a fine animated adventure.