‘Mary and the Witch’s Flower’ and other films.
Magic flows freely if not infinitely in “Mary and the Witch’s Flower,” an effortless animated charmer from the gifted Japanese director and Studio Ghibli veteran Hiromasa Yonebayashi.
Adapted by Yonebayashi and Riko Sakaguchi from Mary Stewart’s 1971 children’s novel, “The Little Broomstick,” the movie ushers us into an enchanted realm where water can dance, brooms and carpets take flight, and woodland critters transform into fantastical beings.
The greatest source of all this magic is the flower of the title, a glowing violet weed called a “fly by night,” which blooms only once every seven years and is coveted by witches and wizards for its extraordinary powers. As luck would have it, the flower falls into the hands of Mary Smith (voiced by Ruby Barnhill in the English-dubbed version opening in North American theaters), who is no witch at all but, rather, a rosy-cheeked young girl with an unruly mop of red hair and an appealing blend of spunk and sweetness.
If Yonebayashi’s movie doesn’t have the visual richness and imaginative depth of Ghibli masterpieces like Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away,” its emotional warmth and wondrously inviting hand-drawn imagery carry on that company’s proud tradition. In the opening minutes, you feel immediately transported, even if the meaning of the images proves elusive: A fire rages, a chase ensues and a young witch flies off into the night with some very precious cargo.
With grace, wit and unforced wisdom, Yonebayashi’s movie sweeps you up and then gently sets you down, back into a world that seems more capable of magic than it did before.
“Mary and the Witch’s Flower.” Rated: PG, for some action and thematic elements. Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes. Playing: Aero Theatre, Santa Monica, Friday-Sunday; full review published Dec. 1, 2017.