I woke up thinking about the animated movie Mary and the Witch’s Flower, which was done by a group of Studio Ghibli alumni.
The drawing style of the movie was classic Ghibli in its look and feel, as was the story with a strong girl as the lead in a fantastical world. In fact, it was based off of a story by Mary Stewart, who had also written the story behind Howl’s Moving Castle, which is a very good movie by Ghibli.
Unfortunately however, there was something missing in this effort. Or rather, I should say maybe there was too much thrown into this effort. It hit all the classic Ghibli beats, but it just didn’t hold together tightly as an experience.
I wonder what was the missing piece of the puzzle. I wonder if it because they didn’t have big headliners on their team, like directors Miyazaki or Takahata, or if it was someone outside of the limelight who held a quiet influence over the studio process.
What is the magic ingredient that takes excellent craftsmanship and shapes it into greatness?