The spirit of Studio Ghibli lives on.

The idea of quitting while one’s ahead isn’t something that tends to cross your average film studio’s mind, especially if there’s enough money is to be made from keeping the boat afloat somehow. Studio Ghibli, however, aren’t your average film studio.

While reports of their death now appear greatly exaggerated, as an unexpected (but welcome) comeback now appears on the horizon, come the release of 2014’s When Marnie Was There, it looked for all the world like the last hurrah for the legendary animation studio.

With wave after wave of critical and financial hit on their hands, few studios, animation or otherwise, would even contemplate winding down, yet that’s precisely what Ghibli co-founder and all-round supremo, Hayao Miyazaki, did. Unhappy with the studio’s plans in the event of his inevitable retirement, Miyazaki promptly downed pens and took Ghibli with him, leaving a giant, Totoro-shaped hole in every fan’s heart as he went.

To pump the breaks knowing full well you couldn’t sustain your own sky-high standards long-term, was so indicative of everything the studio stood for, yet, even if their absence turns out to be temporary, something was badly needed to fill that void.

Step forward quasi-spinoff venture, Studio Ponoc, who appear ready and willing to keep the magic alive with a fantastical story of witches, bizarre creatures, and elaborate floating structures to ensure Studio Ghibli’s creative flame continues to burn brightly.

Stuck in the countryside with her great-aunt, Mary is resigned to a friendless, adventure-free life, when she stumbles upon an old broomstick and the mysterious Fly-by-Night flower in a nearby forest. Joining forces, the flower and broomstick whisk Mary above the clouds to the enchanted Endor College – a school of magic and witchcraft run by staunch Madam Mumblechook and the eccentric Doctor Dee. While Endor offers Mary the companionship and adventure she craves, there’s far more to the school than meets the eye and it’s not long before the young prospective witch is forced to make a stand before it’s too late.

Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement was always unavoidable and, while he has subsequently promised to return very soon, it merely feels like delaying the inevitable. With Miyazaki’s unassailable genius now absent, the world of top-tier Japanese animation appears a little lost. Luckily for us all, it didn’t take long for a few bright sparks at Studio Ghibli, headed by prominent producer, Yoshiaki Nishimura, to take the torch and run with it.

Considering the uncertain circumstances, the newly formed Studio Ponoc couldn’t have picked a more fitting title to kick things off than Mary and the Witch’s Flower. Based on the 1971 children’s novel, The Little Broomstick, Mary and the Witch’s Flower chimes with all the colour, imagination, and freewheeling spirit that made Studio Ghibli so special and, although it may not be up their former studio’s finest adventures, it works as a fitting tribute to the ethos that spawned it, while setting a solid foundation for the future.

Thematically, the film carries itself as your typical childhood fairy tale, touching on everything from growing up and growing old, to self-discovery and the need for connection. They’re simple themes that you’ll find in a million children’s stories, yet that doesn’t make them any less affective.

Mary’s journey from lonely rural life with only her great-aunt and a couple of neighbourhood cats for company, to a mysterious school of magic in the clouds, is a beautifully simple tale of identity and discovery, with a wonderful, carefree sense of adventure that finds itself inextricably tied to likes of Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbour Totoro, and Spirited Away.

Unlike these Studio Ghibli classics however, don’t go into Mary and the Witch’s Flower expecting anything too thematically or narratively complex. For all its potential, this is a film more than happy to keep things surface-level, as it lacks the determination to dig deep into the issues it raises. While something like Spirited Away feels like the perfect parallel, with its strong female protagonist and otherworldly setting; the film’s execution is nowhere near as intricate.

While it’s wholly unfair to judge the maiden effort of a fledgling company like Ponoc against the classics from the legendary studio that spawned it, the comparisons feel unavoidable and ultimately expose the film and its glaring unwillingness to push itself forward in any particularly interesting ways.

The story itself is solid, yet disappointingly unspectacular, and unfortunately well under the creative threshold we’ve grown accustomed to from this corner of the animation world. Through the gloriously timeless hand drawn animation and superbly surrealist visual flourishes, you can certainly see the many influences Hiromasa Yonebayashi, producer Yoshiaki Nishimura, and their extended team have brought with them from their parent studio; however, without Miyazaki’s magical hands on the wheel, it’s clearly going to take time to attain those previous levels of excellence.

Without Miyazaki’s masterful focus, imagination, and diligence; we’re left with a plot that, as with much of the film, rarely elevates itself above adequacy. It’s undoubtedly fun, with many fantastically imaginative, suitably whacky moments to be had along the way, and some lovely flashes of poignancy as Endor’s mysteries and connections with Mary begin to unravel, yet it could all be so much more.

Disappointingly, the plot has all the depth of paddling pool and, while the film’s central mysteries are enough to engage, it’s all done and dusted so rapidly, it’s like watching Harry Potter on fast forward, as we’re never allowed enough time to get fully acquainted with the idiosyncrasies of life as a witch. Where Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away delved head-first into their oddball worlds in search of a deeper truth to their stories, Mary and the Witch’s Flower repeatedly holds back just as it starts warming up.

What holds Mary and the Witch’s Flower back from really clicking as a wholly satisfying experience is its disconnection from the deep-seated folk roots that have optimised so many of the film’s spiritual predecessors. Studio Ghibli, as with much Japanese animation, tends to draw deep from Japan’s unique history and culture, to explore themes intrinsically linked to their national psyche and, while these multifaceted folk stories find themselves communicated through easily-digestible, animated means, they’re no less complex because of it.

Whether a conscious decision to move out of Ghibli’s looming shadow or not, it’s hard to avoid just how of little of this is present in Mary and the Witch’s Flower. Based on The Broomstick by English novelist, Mary Stewart, the film feels distinctly lacking in the overtly Japanese themes that mark anime out from the crowd and, although there’s a lot in the film’s quaint English nature and quirky mysticism to charm even the most jaded viewer, something feels fundamentally missing.

Aiming primarily at a younger audience should never be a criticism for any animation, yet the very best manage to bridge the gap between viewing generations with ease. While there are certainly elements for adults to take away from the experience, Mary and the Witch’s Flower appears happy to play things simple and to a younger, far less demanding audience. The ability to blur the line between age demographics is what separates the animation wheat from the chaff and is, ultimately, what holds Mary and the Witch’s Flower back from true greatness.

Bouncing around the screen like a Saturday morning cartoon, everything in Mary and the Witch’s Flower feels distinctly light and surface-level. Parents will leave the film a little underwhelmed, especially if going in with Ghibli-level expectations, yet the easy to follow action, simple morality tale, bold and colourful characters, and heroic, youthful protagonist make it the perfect fit for the young and young-at-heart among us.

With Studio Ghibli currently in something of a holding pattern, the world is in desperate need of its leftfield anime fix and, while Mary and the Witch’s Flower may not be at the level to compete with Miyazaki’s finest, it’s an admirably solid foundation for Studio Ponoc to build upon. With director Hiromasa Yonebayashi utilising the full range of his Ghibli experience to inform the film’s stunning visuals, they often feel lost in a thin and uninspired plot but, while it may not be on a Spirited Away or My Neighbour Totoro level, what on Earth is? As a simple, sweetly told story, Mary and the Witch’s Flower will work perfectly for younger audiences and, most importantly, embodies the quirky, joyful, idiosyncratic Miyazaki spirit we so desperately need right now.