Feb 17, 2023
The BFG (2016)
seen from France
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Malaysia
seen from Dominican Republic
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from Singapore
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from Australia
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Dominican Republic
The BFG (2016)
Movies I’ve Watched in 2021
Number 23
The BFG
Steven Spielberg explains to Ruby Barnhill how the dreams are caught and stored in the special jars.
Steven Spielberg and Ruby Barnhill on the set of The BFG (2016)
Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2017) is about a young girl who discovers a rare flower in the woods, and then her cat friend guides her to a little broomstick. The broomstick brings her to a magic school in the sky run by two weirdos named Madam Mumblechook and Doctor Dee, who, as it turns out, are not good people.
Beautiful animation is one of the most sensory, immersive types of film. I was transported to this sleepy English village, the misty woods, and all of the magical rooms at Endor College.
The plot feels pretty familiar, and Mary doesn’t really experience much internal conflict on her journey. It’s still a fun story with not one, but two cats!
Ruby Barnhill as Sophie in Steven Spielberg’s The BFG
Film Review | Mary & The Witch’s Flower (2017)
I didn’t realize until the credits that this wasn’t Studio Ghibli! For some reason I thought it was a Ghibli release that I totally slept on - but good for the film for owning the influence, and Hayao Miyazaki got that special thanks in the credits.
All in all, this plays like a little bit like a Howl’s Moving Castle/Spirited Away in that it’s got the steampunk-y vibes and the anti-humans controlling nature sentiment but whisks you off to a magic land - and it does both to pretty great effect. I loved the English cast - it makes for a truly unique story that feels pretty fresh, since we don’t get a ton of English cast in US dubs. It was really nice!
That being said, the story is a little redundant and it feels very “been there, done that.” I could tell exactly where everything was headed after the setup. Either way, if you’re a fan of Ghibli films - you’ll probably still connect with this one.
12 of 365.
3.5 out of 5.