Mary And The Witch's Flower Anime Film's Opening Scene Streamed With English Dub

Anime premieres in U.S. theaters on January 18
GKIDS began streaming on Thursday a English-dubbed video previewing the opening scene of Studio Ponoc and Hiromasa Yonebayashi's Mary and The Witch's Flower anime film.



GKIDS and Fathom Events will premiere the anime in U.S. theaters on Thursday, January 18. Regular screenings will start nationwide on January 19. The premiere event will have two screening times: the English dub will screen at 7:00 p.m. local time, and the English-subtitled version will screen at 8:00 p.m. local time. The screenings will include an exclusive interview with filmmakers and a commemorative item.


The film opened in Japan last July and has earned 3 billion yen (US$28 million). The home video release is slated for March 20 in Japan.

Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who directed Studio Ghibli's Arrietty and When Marnie Was There, directed Mary and The Witch's Flower, and also penned the script for the film alongside Riko Sakaguchi, who wrote the screenplay for Isao Takahata's The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Takatsugu Muramatsu (When Marnie Was There) composed the music. Yoshiaki Nishimura is credited as producer. The staff page on the film's website further noted that many former staff from Studio Ghibli joined Ponoc in the film's production.

The BFG's Ruby Barnhill stars in the dub as the titular character Mary, and Kate Winslet (Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Mountain Between Us) plays school chairwoman Madam Mumblechook. Jim Broadbent, who co-starred with Winslet in Iris, plays Mumblechook's colleague Doctor Dee. Other cast members include Ewen Bremner, Lynda Baron, Rasmus Hardiker, Teresa Gallagher, Morwenna Banks, and Louis Ashbourne Serkis.

The film is based on Mary Stewart's book The Little Broomstick. Studio Ponoc scouted locations in Shropshire, U.K., the setting of the original novel. The Japanese version stars Hana Sugisaki (When Marnie Was There, live-action Blade of the Immortal) as Mary and Ryunosuke Kamiki (The Secret World of Arrietty's Sho, your name.'s Taki) as Peter.