Spell boundless

‘Mary and the Witch’s Flower’ brings a new day for anime

In fables—particularly thoughtful ones—magic is a common allegory for power, how it can be used either selfishly or sacrificially, for good or for evil. But rarely, if ever, is it used to question power outright, in its totality, as it is in “Mary and the Witch’s Flower.” This may be the first fairy tale that, to metaphorically paraphrase, speaks truth to magic.

From Oscar-nominated director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, an artist drawn to stories of strong young heroines (“When Marnie Was There”; “The Secret World of Arrietty”), this is the debut feature anime for Studio Ponoc. Akin to Pixar, Ponoc was created by former artists from the famed Studio Ghibli (Japan’s Disney) when its legendary co-founder Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement (which he’s since rescinded).

Visually and tonally, “Mary and the Witch’s Flower” is Ghibli through and through, but thematically it sets its own postmodern course.

Based on the classic children’s book “The Little Broomstick,” it’s the story of a girl, Mary (voiced by Ruby Barnhill of “The BFG”), who lives in a bucolic countryside. When she happens upon a hidden broomstick deep in a nearby forest she’s never explored, a magic is unleashed that ushers Mary to Endor College, a witches’ school in the sky. Its headmistress, Madam Mumblechook, and top professor, Doctor Dee, are voiced, respectively, by Oscar winners Kate Winslet and Jim Broadbent.

Mary, with bobbed and ponytailed red hair, is a quasi-Pippi Shortstocking that doesn’t become, if you will, a Harriet Potter. Where J.K. Rowling’s magical world of Hogwarts was more traditional in nature (albeit inventive and grand), Endor College seems to have been conjured from an LSD-laced imagination, a trippy gonzo vision on par with the Ghibli aesthetic.

Mary, unlike Potter or Oz’s Dorothy, is not a Chosen One who embarks on a standard hero’s journey. Yes, she must face unexpected foes, rescue a newfound friend, and stop an evil plan, but this tale—wonderous, enchanted, and child-like as it is—is more subversive than mythic.

The journey doesn’t inspire Mary to harness magic for noble ends; rather, she takes a more humble path, one in which magic of any expression loses its allure because of how it can compromise our humanity. Friendship is the only pure power, because it’s inherently responsible to another.

Anime often transports us to other worlds and dimensions. “Mary and the Witch’s Flower” is a stunning new chapter in that tradition. Miyazaki’s Ghibli may soon close, but in Studio Ponoc (which means “midnight,” signifying the beginning of a new day) its legacy promises to live on for generations—and, now, with a new voice.