Starved Studio Ghibli fans now have something new to look forward to. Yesterday, Ghibli veterans, under the auspices of Studio Ponoc, released a trailer for a fantastical, Ghibliesque movie called Mary and the Witchâs Flower, slated for Summer, 2017.
Based on Mary Stewartâs The Little Broomstick, in which a girl discovers a magical broomstick in the woods, Mary and the Witchâs Flower will have everything youâd expect from an OG Miyazaki film: a strong, girl protagonist, a black cat, rolling, green hills, magical drama and skyfights against flying, squirmy fish monsters.
âA fundamental part of the Ghibli story is that the heroinesâ humanity, rather than any special powers, was always their greatest strength,â former Studio Ghibli producer and Studio Ponac founder Yoshiaki Nishimura told the Telegraph. âYou may like it, you may dislike it, but a lot of Japanese animation has a kid solving a problem by getting inside a giant robot. The Ghibli philosophy was different, and I wanted it to be the Ponoc philosophy too.â
From the Telegraphâs interview:
Nishimura describes it as a film for children who are âmoving into a 21st century thatâs different from the one their parents imagined for them.â He goes on: âI think we all had a vision of what the world would be like, but itâs not the one weâre moving into. So what filmmakers should say at a time when people are losing hope â and what kind of film might help restore it in our children â are big themes for right now.â
Studio Ghibli announced theyâd take a break in 2014. Not long after, Hayao Miyazaki claimed heâd go into retirementâa claim heâs gone back onseveral times. Most recently, in November, Miyazaki said heâs come out of retirement to help with Boro the Caterpiller, originally an animated short that Miyazaki is expanding into a feature-length film.
Mary and the Witchâs Flower looks promising and, if youâre a diehard Ghibli fan, youâre bound to have some feels watching the trailer.
