Debut feature from Studio Ghibli alums to screen in movie theaters nationwide on January 18th accompanied by an exclusive interview with Oscar-nominated director Hiromasa Yonebayashi.
Independent animation distributor and producer GKIDS has released a brand-new poster and trailer for Mary and the Witch’s Flower, the inaugural feature from Studio Ponoc.
The film is directed by Academy Award-nominee Hiromasa Yonebayashi (The Secret World of Arrietty, When Marnie Was There) and is produced by Studio Ponoc founder and two-time Academy Award-nominee Yoshiaki Nishimura (The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, When Marnie Was There).
Based on Mary Stewart’s 1971 children’s book, “The Little Broomstick,” and featuring a script by Riko Sakaguchi, the story centers on an ordinary young girl named Mary, who discovers a flower that grants magical powers, but only for one night. As she is whisked into an exciting new world beyond belief, she must learn to stay true to herself.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Mary is a plain, young girl, stuck in a rural British village with her Great-Aunt Charlotte and seemingly no adventures or friends in sight. But a chance encounter with a pair of mysterious cats leads Mary into the nearby forest, where she finds an old broom stuck in the overgrowth of a nearby tree, and the strange blue glow of the fly-by-night flower, a rare plant that blossoms only once every seven years. As the broom comes to life and lifts Mary high into the skies, she discovers a mysterious school for witches above the clouds. But the charming headmistress Madam Mumblechook and bumbling Doctor Dee are not all that they appear, in a twisting tale that reveals even the most ordinary-seeming children are capable of the most extraordinary adventures.
Mary and the Witch’s Flower arrives in theaters nationwide in a one-night screening event from Fathom Events on January 18th, to be followed by select limited engagements starting January 19th.
The English-version of the first feature film from the new studio the voices of Ruby Barnhill, Kate Winslet and Jim Broadbent. Check out the new English-language trailer in the player below:
Source: GKIDS
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
