While looking for a film to analyze outside of class, I wanted to watch a film that I thought would be a different when compared to the films watched in class. I watched Mary and the Witch’s Flower, a Japanese animation film directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. I have watched quite a few Japanese animation films before class, as well as anime shows, and I have enjoyed mostly all of them. One Japanese animation studio that I feel has some of the best animation films is Studio Ghibli. I was around 3 years old when I watched my first film from Studio Ghibli, My Neighbor Totoro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. I was impressed by the movie, and enjoyed every minute of it as a child. As I grew older, I ended up watching Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away, all of which are directed by Hayao Miyazaki. In the year 2013, Hayao Miyazaki said that he was retiring from the animation business, in which he came back in 2017. However, after Hayao Miyazaki left Studio Ghibli, many of the animators and staff, including Hiromasa Yonebayashi, left to create their own studio, Studio Ponoc. Studio Ponoc released its first film in 2017, which was Mary and the Witch’s Flower. After doing my research before watching the film, I was excited to watch the first film by Studio Ghibli’s successor. However, after watching Mary and the Witch’s Flower, I was able to enjoy it for the most part, except for a few issues concerning the plot and the dialogue. I thought the film fit well into the fantasy genre for Japanese animation films, but I think the intended audience for the translation of the film made it seem like a weaker film when compared to those of Miyazaki.
In the beginning of Mary and the Witch’s Flower, we see a witch being chased on a broomstick while she is escaping with a small bag. The young witch ends up falling off her broom and dropping everything in her bag, which are a few blue glowing seeds. The rest of the film is about a young girl named Mary who has just moved in with her Great Aunt Charlotte. While doing chores outside the house, Mary starts to follow two cats through a nearby forest and comes across a blue magical flower called a “fly-by-night”, which is believed to have magical powers. The next day, Mary follows one of the cats through the forest again and finds a broomstick which she tries to take in order to help with chores around her Aunt’s home. However, she ends up crushing a “fly-by-night” flower and she gains magical powers and the broomstick starts to fly and takes Mary for a ride. Mary and the broom fly through the air until they come across an island in the sky, Endor College for magic users. While Mary explores the college, she meets the headmistress Madam Mumblechook and the chemistry teacher Doctor. Dee. During a demonstration of magic, Mary is told to try and attempt complex spells, in which she makes herself invisible. Both the Madam and Doctor are impressed but suspicious about Mary’s skills, to which Mary explains to Madam Mumblechook that she gained her magical powers from the “fly-by-night” flower. The Madam allows Mary to return to her home, however that night the Madam sends a message to Mary saying that she kidnapped her friend Peter and won’t let him free until she brings the “fly-by-night” to her. Mary then begins her quest to rescue Peter, to which she succeeds and the school is destroyed.
Although the story of the film is based on Mary Stewart’s 1971 novel The Little Broomstick, the start of the plot for Mary and the Witch’s flower seemed similar to other Japanese animation films. When compared to Spirited Away, both are about a young girl who lives a normal life, until they come across something magical or spiritual that changes their whole world. I feel like this setup for both these films is an easy way for audiences to become engaged and transported to a world of fantasy. However, unlike other fantasy Japanese animation films, the plot of Mary and the Witch’s Flower continues to unfold as the characters seem to not be developed. When the character of Peter is introduced to audiences, he seems like the typical young boy who teases the young girl. This type of character is also seen in animation films such as My Neighbor Totoro when looking at how Kanta treats both Mei and Satsuki. However, when Mary and the Witch’s Flower decides to make Peter a character related to the plot, he had not developed a strong connection with Mary. This threw off many audience members as stated by Amanda Yeo in a Kotaku article; “Even the most prominent relationship – that of Mary and Peter – was more presumed rather than shown. I wouldn’t even consider them friends for the majority of the film, rather two people who happen to be thrown into strange circumstances together. The lack of that relationship really lets the film down” (Yeo 68). This results in making the rest of the film seem awkward from a storytelling perspective.
The technology behind the animation style of Mary and the Witch’s Flower can be compared to every type of Japanese animation film. Although the plot seemed weak by poor character development and pacing, the film was a spectacular visual piece of art and enjoyable to watch. When compared to a more realistic styled Japanese animation film such as Your Name and the stylized animations of films by Studio Ghibli, Mary and the Witch’s Flower leans more towards the stylistic animation styles that were favored by its predecessor studio. The film includes many different types of character designs, such as the humanoid mouse Mr. Flanagan a who watches over the student’s brooms. Other visual effects that are in the film are shown when characters are performing magic. When casting certain spells, the characters produce bright blue lights, orange and yellow sparks, and purple electricity. There are also many fast moving scenes, such as the beginning during the broomstick chase and a later when Mary lets the captive animals free. All of these elements help Mary and the Witch’s Flower look like a high quality and modern Japanese animation film.
Japanese animation is one of the most popular international media consumed in the United States. Japanese animation is widely known by a simpler name, Anime. Anime that has become popular in the U.S. are mostly episodic based rather than film based. Anime shows such as Pokemon, Dragon Ball, and Naruto are just a few examples of shows that even non-anime consumers recognize in the States. This is mainly due to the localization of anime on television networks in the United States. When it comes to any type of international media, localizing the material to different cultures is important in becoming relatable to new audiences. However, sometimes localization in one country takes away from the original work that was intended towards its own local audience. When it comes to consumers of Japanese Anime in the United States, there is always a debate between “dubs” and “subs”. Dubbed Anime is Anime that has been localized completely, where the voices for the cast of characters is remade to be understood by local consumers. Subbed Anime keeps the original Japanese voice cast, but includes localized subtitles.
Many audience members believe that subbed Anime is far superior when compared to their localized dubbed version because they believe that the characters’ words, feelings, and tone are poorly translated. Around the time of the localization release, Geoffrey Wexler, the producer for the English dub of Mary and the Witch’s Flower, was interviewed by Radio New Zealand regarding the difference between dubbing a Japanese animation. Wexler states “A well-dubbed film is neither a translation or a whole new film, but something of its own in between” (“When Is Dubbed Better Than Subbed” 30 ). Wexler defends dubbing a Japanese animation as long as it is well done. However, Mary and the Witch’s Flower did not seem to be a “well-dubbed film”, as the acting seemed stale in comparison to the original Japanese version and takes away from the charm of the original version.
When looking at Mary and the Witch’s Flower, I feel like the localized English version suffers from poor translation. The English dubbed version was the only version I was able to watch, and I felt like the characters sounded too soft and did not sound enthusiastic enough in dire situations. After my first viewing of the English version, I rushed to a computer to search for the original Japanese version to compare. Although I could not find the full film in Japanese, I was able to compare enough of the dialogue from many trailers that included the original Japanese voice cast. Though they weren’t the full version, the trailers showed what was a far superior version of the film. The English dubbed version of the film was recorded in London, which explained why many of the characters had British and Scottish accents. Although this translation was intentional based on the European setting of the film, many of the characters sounded like they were disconnected from the events surrounding them.When watching the trailers of the film, the characters had much more genuine emotion and they sounded more theatrical.
Looking at Mary and the Witch’s Flower from the perspective of an international film student, the film does its job in representing Japanese culture. Although the plot and progression of the story could be improved, the genre, animation, and original target audience easily proves that this film is similar to many other Japanese animation films. However, the English version seems to take away many of the themes that show the Japanese culture of film. While the English version keeps the same elements and tropes from the genre and the animation stays the same, the translation to global audiences ends up taking away the charm the original Japanese version because it was intended to be something on its own.