Former Studio Ghibli producer, Yoshiaki Nishimura, has just revealed that he will be releasing a new animated film, which, officially nabbed the title “Mary and The Witch’s Flower”. Along with the announcement, trailers of the said movie have been released.
Studio Ponoc has just dropped a surprise trailer featuring a preview of Yoshiaki Nishimura’s upcoming animated movie, “Mary and The Witch’s Flower”. The movie is based on the book, “The Little Broomstick”, which was written by the renowned British novelist, Mary Stewart. “My Little Broomstick” is a children’s novel she published in 1971 that centers on the story of a girl named Mary who meets a black cat named Tib and sets off on a magical journey as she discovers she possesses powers.
The 32-second clip teased a familiar Studio Ghibli animation style with vivid backgrounds. Studio Ponoc released two versions of the trailer, in Japanese and in English. With an English version of the trailer revealed, there is a possibility that the animated film will be aired in the U.S. as well. The upcoming first Studio Ponoc film is set to release in the summer of 2017.
“Mary and the Witch’s Flower” will be the fifth film that Nishimura worked on. He co-produced the animated film “When Marnie Was There”, which was released in July 2014. He produced “Howl’s Moving Castle”, “The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness”, and “The Tale of Princess Kaguya”, along with “”When Marnie Was There” when he was still part of Studio Ghibli. The movie will also be directed by Hirosama Yonebayashi, who worked on the 2010 film, “Arrietty”.
With his departure from Studio Ghibli, he founded a new animation studio in April 2015 and called it Studio Ponoc. “Mary and the Witch’s Flower” will be the first feature film that Studio Ponoc will produce and release. Aside from Nishimura, other former employees of Studio Ghibli have collaborated with him on the upcoming animated movie, hence the resemblance to the art of the classic Japanese films.
