I've reviewed a lot of Ghibli films in my time. Not all of them, but definitely most of them. This one has a score on Rotten Tomatoes that's actually lower than Tales from Earthsea and has been basically panned. Is it actually that bad? Let's have a look.

Story:

We open with a red-haired witch running away from a magical car. Eventually, she stops at an orphanage and leaves behind her baby with a note saying she's being pursued by other witches and she'll be back for her baby. But the matron decides that Earwig isn't an appropriate name for a baby and calls her Aya instead. Years later, Aya gets adopted by a witch and a Mandrake so that she can act as the witches' assistant.

The big problem with the narrative of this film is that a lot of plot threads aren't really completed. The reasons the mother's being pursued are vague. We see her again at the very end but don't see anything about the reunion.

That being said, the whole story of Aya trying to find her place among Yaga Bella and Mandrake is interesting and it has a lot of good moments. It's compelling in the way it presents itself with her being a precocious brat but also clearly longing for a family and seeing the three of them get attached while Aya discovers things linked to her own mother is pretty endearing.

Characters:

The three major characters are Aya, Yaga Bella and Mandrake. There's also a talking cat and Aya's old friends from the children's home. The major characters have some strong dynamics and interactions. Aya's relationship with Thomas, the talking cat, is also well done. The children's home characters are a bit dull but not bad.

Art:

This is the big contentious element of the film. People don't like the fact that Ghibli exchanged their gorgeous, carefully crafted art style for Disney-Pixar looking 3D animation. In m y opinion, it definitely doesn't look as good as Ghibli's usual output. That being said, I think it would be unfair to call it bad. My big issue with it is simply that it looks a lot more generic. This is the same animation style that Disney is using these days or that Dreamworks gravitates towards. It's basically become the standard. So, Ghibli has essentially exchanged their distinctive art for art that's a lot more typical. It's still very detailed and has solid character designs though.

Sound:

The acting is well done. Hirasawa Kokoro, Toyokawa Etsushi, Terashima Shinobu & Munaf Sherina all have solid performances. I can also appreciate the way they tie the song Don't Disturb Me that Aya's mother leaves her so heavily into the narrative. It's a well composed and performed song to begin with and it having so much relevance just makes it better.

Ho-yay:

There's none to be found.

Areas of Improvement:

  1. The film really needs to tie up its loose plot threads better. Yes, we can infer that Aya gets reunited with her mother at the end and that, somehow, her mother escaped the witches who were pursuing her. But the details of how that's going to unfold are kind of important.
  2. The visuals should be less generic and more like Ghibli's signature. Yes, it doesn't look bad but I really think it's a misstep to put aside their brilliant visual style to be like every other studio producing children's films.
  3. The orphans could stand to be more interesting. Particularly Aya's friend Custard.

Final Thoughts:

Aya to Majo is far from the worst Ghibli film. It has some compelling ideas, solid character dynamics and strong performances. If I had to guess, I would say that most of the hate directed at it is from people who are upset about the art style change just like most of the hate that Disney's Black Cauldron gets is from it being darker and more serious than any of Disney's previous films. People don't like change from Studio's they're invested in. And I understand it, to an extent. It definitely doesn't look as good as their usual films. But it still looks fine and it's a well crafted film overall. I'm giving it a 7/10.

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