While it doesn’t pop with philosophical resonance like Ghibli pictures, it has enough fairy dust in its sleeves to keep you transfixed and rooting for the heroine.

Full Review | Dec 14, 2023

[Director Hiromasa] Yonebayashi was an animator for Hayao Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli and he honors the master’s work with his sweet, playful film (adapted from a children’s novel by British author Mary Stewart) and his young heroine.

Full Review | Apr 14, 2023

A really charming coming-of-age fantasy story that will linger with you long after watching.

Full Review | Jan 5, 2021

It might not reach the lofty heights of Your Name's transcendent beauty, but it's an emotional and enthralling adventure with visual flourishes of supernatural beauty.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 14, 2020

Mary and the Witch's Flower submerges itself in Studio Ghibli levels of imagination, beautiful color, likeable characters, and dazzlingly fluid animation for a final product that is creatively captivating to audiences of all ages.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 2, 2019

May not reach the heights of Ghibli's best but nevertheless marks a mildly auspicious start to the Studio Ponoc offshoot.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 20, 2019

It has enough virtues to entertain the audience. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 10, 2019

It's a fine amalgamation of stronger films, but it's hard to escape the feeling that we've seen this all done before.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 3, 2019

Riotous fun and an affecting story, demonstrating that Studio Ponoc is bursting with creative potential.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 13, 2019

The most outstanding part of Mary and The Witch's Flower is the astonishing visuals.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 6, 2019

Mary and the Witch's Flower is basically a greatest hits album of Studio Ghibli tropes and elements, but it's a very well-assembled one that proves if the formula ain't broke, why bother fixing it?

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 18, 2019

As the little boy sitting behind me whispered to his mom near the end: "Is it almost over? Because I never want it to end."

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jan 12, 2019

It's a very loose adaptation of the book, as was Howl's Moving Castle and Arrietty, but there's charm in the mix of English kid-lit tropes and the sort of wild imagination cultivated in Japanese animation.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 12, 2018

An entertaining and friendly personal journey with classicism in precepts about personal worth, ambition and respect for nature. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Oct 16, 2018

The legacy of the [Hayao Miyazaki] is in good hands. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 10, 2018

On its own merits, the film is an enchanting diversion, but director Hiromasa Yonebayashi... spends too much time reminding us of Ghibli's greatest hits instead of attempting to craft his own masterpiece.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 7, 2018

Mary and the Witch's Flower shows that Yonebayashi knows, as Alfred Hitchcock would say, how to start a movie with an earthquake (in this case, an earthquake of sensations, pure kinetic energy and constant plastic invention). [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Sep 7, 2018

There is only one Miyazaki, and his disciple insists on reminding us. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 4, 2018

You can feel the love and passion that went into this project.

Full Review | Aug 20, 2018

...turns homage into a richly rewarding adventure.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 9, 2018