From Universal Pictures Home Entertainment: MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., March 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on the enchanting novel "The Little Broomstick" by Mary Stewart, Mary and the Witch's Flower is a dazzling new animated adventure about a young girl who discovers a flower that grants her magical powers – but only for one night. From Studio Ponoc and Academy Award®-nominated director Hiromasa Yonebayashi (When Marnie Was There) – animator on Studio Ghibli masterpieces Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle - Mary and the Witch's Flower  arrives on Digital and the all-new digital movie app MOVIES ANYWHERE on April 17, 2018 and on Blu-rayTM, DVD and On Demand May 1, 2018 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, in partnership with animation distributor GKIDS. "An utterly bewitching delight!" (Haleigh Foutch, Collider), the magical world of Mary and The Witch's Flower is populated by unforgettable characters brought to life by Ruby Barnhill (The BFG), Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge!).

Mary and the Witch's Flower follows Mary, an ordinary young girl stuck in the country with her Great-Aunt Charlotte when she discovers an old broomstick and the strange flower that blossoms only once every seven years. Suddenly, Mary finds herself whisked away to Endor College – a school of magic run by Madam Mumblechook and the brilliant Doctor Dee. But the school is not all that it seems, and when Mary tells a lie, she must find her courage and risk everything to set things right.

Bewitching animation fans and families alike, the film on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital invites viewers to an exclusive look behind-the-scenes and thoughtful discussion with the filmmakers.

BONUS FEATURES EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAYTM & DIGITAL:

• NTV Special: Creating Mary and the Witch's Flower - Featuring interviews from cast and crew, "NTV Special: Creating Mary and the Witch's Flower - 500 Days Up Close" goes behind the scenes to get a closer look at how the film came together.
• A Special Conversation: SEKAI NO OWARI, Hiromasa Yonebayashi, and Yoshiaki Nishimura - The director and producer of Mary and the Witch's Flower, and the members of SEKAI NO OWARI, talk about the making of the theme song.

 BONUS FEATURES on BLU-RAYTM, DVD AND DIGITAL

• Film Completion Press Conference - Cast and crew from Mary and the Witch's Flower talk about their experiences and answer questions about working on the film.
• Theatrical Promotional Movie - Go behind the scenes with the Japanese voice cast of Mary and the Witch's Flower and learn the process of how this film came to be
• Interview with the Filmmakers - Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Producer Yoshiaki Nishimura sit down and talk about the creation of Studio Ponoc, the creative decisions behind Mary and the Witch's Flower, and the impact they hope for the film to have.
• Trailers
• TV Spots

The film will be available on Blu-ray™ combo pack which includes Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital, and Movies Anywhere.

• Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.
• DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.
• Digital lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.
• Movies Anywhere is the digital app that simplifies and enhances the digital movie collection and viewing experience by allowing consumers to access their favorite digital movies in one place when purchased or redeemed through participating digital retailers. Consumers can also redeem digital copy codes found in eligible Blu-ray™ and DVD disc packages from participating studios and stream or download them through Movies Anywhere. MOVIES ANYWHERE is only available in the United States. For more information, visit https://moviesanywhere.com.

For artwork, please log onto our website at https://www.uphe.com/

UPHE Website: http://uni.pictures/MATWF UPHE Trailer: http://uni.pictures/MATWFTrailer Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryAndTheWitchsFlowerUSA Twitter: https://twitter.com/GKIDSfilmsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/gkidsfilms

FILMMAKERS: Voice Cast: Ruby Barnhill, Kate Winslet, Jim Broadbent and Ewen BremnerBased on "The Little Broomstick" By: Mary StewartScreenplay By: Riko Sakaguchi and Hiromasa YonebayashiMusic By: Takatsugu MuramatsuTheme Song "Rain" Performed By: Sekai No OwariProduced By: Yoshiaki NishimuraDirected By: Hiromasa Yonebayashi

TECHNICAL INFORMATION BLU-RAY™:Street Date: May 1, 2018Copyright: 2018 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Selection Number: 44196353Layers: BD 50Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 WidescreenRating: PG for Some Action and Thematic ElementsLanguages/Subtitles: English SDH, English, FrenchSound: English DTS-HD 5.1, Japanese DTS-HD 5.1Run Time: 1 hour 43 minutes

TECHNICAL INFORMATION DVD:Street Date: May 1, 2018Copyright: 2018 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Selection Number: 44196352Layers: Dual LayerAspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Anamorphic WidescreenRating: PG for Some Action and Thematic ElementsLanguages/Subtitles: English SDH, English, FrenchSound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0Run Time: 1 hour 43 minutes

About GKIDSGKIDS is a distributor of award-winning feature animation for both adult and family audiences. Since 2010, the company has scored an unrivaled ten Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations – with The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea in 2015, Boy and the World and When Marnie Was There in 2016, and The Breadwinner in 2017.  GKIDS also handles North American theatrical distribution for Oscar winner Hayao Miyazaki's famed Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world's most coveted animation collections with titles Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and others.

About Universal Pictures Home EntertainmentUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE – www.uphe.com) is a unit of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG). UFEG produces, acquires, markets and distributes filmed entertainment worldwide in various media formats for theatrical, home entertainment, television and other distribution platforms, as well as consumer products, interactive gaming and live entertainment. The global division includes Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Brand Development, Fandango, DreamWorks Animation Film and Television and Awesomeness.  UFEG is part of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience.  NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation

CONTACT:Rebecca WolfsonUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment [email protected]   

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SOURCE Universal Pictures Home Entertainment