What kind of reception did the prodigal son receive when he returned home? At a press conference for the release of
Mary and the Witch's Flower (Mary to Majo no Han), prolific anime film director Hiromasa Yonebayashi indicated that it was a rather warm one.
Yonebayashi gained prominence with the 2010's T
he Secret World of Arrietty and then blew audiences away with 2014's
When Marnie Was There. Both of these films were released by Studio Ghibli. However after
Marnie's relase, Yonebayashi struck out on his own and joined with Studio Ponoc for
Mary and the Witch’s Flower.
During a press conference for the film, Yonebayashi revealed he screened his new work for his former peers at Ghibli however Hayao Miyazaki stated that he wouldn't watch it. It wasn't a diss by the legendary anime film maker as he told Yonebayashi that he didn't need to watch it to know that it was good (Miyazaki is probably too busy working on his own new film). "
Good job. So this is the kind of movie you make after being released from Ghibli's spell. It's a good movie, made freely and at ease," said Miyazaki to his former employee.
Mary and the Witch’s Flower is based on the children’s novel,
The Little Broomstick, a continuing theme of Yonebayashi's work as
The Secret World of Arrietty was based on
The Borrowers and
When Marnie Was There is based on the Joan Collins novel of the same title.
The film will be released in Japan on July 08. No word yet on a US release but stay tuned to Anime Mojo for updates.