Back in 2010, a film called The Secret World of Arrietty hit theaters. The animated film was based on the famous English fantasy novel series The Borrowers, which chronicled the adventures of a pint-sized family that lived in the walls and floors of a home. It had long been the subject of adaptations, but Arrietty was the first take in animated form. The film was gorgeous.

While the narrative wasn’t its strongest point, there was an amazing attention to detail that could not be overlooked, and at that time, I made sure to log away the name Hiromasa Yonebayashi, the film’s director. Clearly, this guy would go on to do some great things. Four years later saw the release of his second directed feature, When Marnie Was There. The film was also a critical triumph, and was yet another reason to keep an eye on Yonebayashi.

In the time between that film’s release and now, Yonebayashi has left Studio Ghibli (where those last two films were produced) and has gone on to join the startup production company, Studio Ponoc. There, he created his latest feature, Mary and the Witch’s Flower, which will double as the studio’s first feature.

Up until now, we’ve seen a lot of the same footage, but now we have our first subtitled trailer for the flick, and man does it look gorgeous. Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of Japanese trailers. They never really seem to ring emotionally with me, and come across as incredibly shallow and cheesy, but there’s no denying that Studio Ghibli has done a great job at grooming Yonebayashi, for the art and animation are of similar style and quality.

Mary and the Witch’s Flower is based on the children’s novel, The Little Broomstick, and follows a girl who discovers a flower that gives her the ability to become a witch for one night only. The trailer itself doesn’t really give much else away apart from that and some set piece moments, but the imagination behind this one looks to be astounding. We can’t wait to see this film hit.

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SOURCE: Studio Ponoc

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