Based on Mary Stewart’s 1971 classic children’s book The Little Broomstick, MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER is an action-packed animation full of jaw-dropping imaginative worlds, ingenious characters, and the simple, heartfelt story of a young girl trying to find a place in the world. Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (animator on SPIRITED AWAY, HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE and PONYO). Featuring the voices of Academy Award®-winners Kate Winslet and Jim Broadbent.

This suspenseful story carries a strong warning about the Internet as it is evolving today. When one computer-savvy teenager unwittingly cracks a security code to an international site that most people use every day…havoc ensues. With ingredients of uncommon-nerd heroes, Takeshi Murakami-designed internet avatars and of course, teenage crushes: This film will keep you glued to your seat, laptop, Smartphone …

Kenji, a teenage math prodigy, is recruited by his secret crush for the ultimate summer job – passing himself off as her boyfriend for four days during her grandmother’s 90th birthday celebration. But when Kenji solves a 2,056-digit math riddle sent to his cell phone, he unwittingly breaches the security barricade protecting OZ: a globe-spanning virtual world where millions of people and governments interact through their avatars, handling everything from online shopping and traffic control to national defense and nuclear launch codes. Now a malicious AI program called the Love Machine is hijacking Oz accounts, growing exponentially more powerful and sowing chaos and destruction in its wake.

This intriguingly intelligent cyberpunk/sci-fi story is a visual tour-de-force, especially the amazing world of OZ: a hallucinatory pixel parade of cool avatar designs, kung fu jackrabbits, toothy bears and a bursting rainbow of colors.

REVIEWS:

“A stunning mixture of hand-drawn and CGI visuals in an endlessly colorful world filled with grotesque, razor-sharp toothed avatars. Its thematic ambition and dazzling visual style ultimately make it one of the more rewarding anime efforts to reach these shores!” – Hollywood Reporter

“A whirlwind of a film! Further proof Japan does grown-up children’s stories better than the United States!” – The New York Times

Patema is a precocious teen who loves to explore the caverns and tunnels of her subterranean world until she falls into the DANGER ZONE! In her inverted gravity world, she falls upwards to the Earth’s surface and risks falling into the sky. Saved by an equally rebellious young man who is charmed by this upside-down girl, they fight to save her from the totalitarian surface government that seeks to annihilate her subterranean civilization and the freethinking people they represent. A dizzying, suspenseful animé.