Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki are names that Anime fans the world over have a special affinity towards – and for good reason. With classics such as Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro just scratching the surface of the extensive and spellbinding catalogue of works that the studio and mastermind possess, it’s clear to see that when the studio announced its first full CG film Earwig and the Witch was coming and would be helmed by Miyazaki-san’s son Goro, fans were excited and expectations were incredibly high. However, Goro-san’s third outing as Director has failed to live up to his father’s and the studio’s stellar reputation.
Earwig and the Witch, based on the novel of the same name by the late Diana Wynne Jones, follows the story of Erica “Earwig” Wig (Taylor Paige Henderson) who, as a baby, is left on the doorstep of an orphanage in early 1990s England by her mother who is on the run from witches. A few years later, she is adopted by a strange couple who reveal themselves to be a witch and a mandrake, and Earwig tries to get her new adopted parents to teach her magic. That is pretty much all there is for the plot.
The plot is so aimless and thin that even after fifty minutes of its 82-minute runtime, we found ourselves struggling to see exactly where the film was going to go and how it would end as nothing of note had really happened up until this point. In fairness, the film was originally made for Japanese television with a much younger core audience in mind, but even still, you can’t help but wonder if children will fully understand what is going on. Not only that but so many of the questions posed in the first 10 minutes were never addressed again and the film just abruptly ends leaving you feeling utterly disappointed.
With this being Studio Ghibli’s first full CG film, you can expect some roughness around the edges but the main glaring issue with this form of animation is that everything feels too pristine and jarring compared to the studio’s classic hand-drawn animation which put it on the map. The key anime elements are still there with some typical and entertaining facial reactions and otherworldly movement, but it just feels strange and out of place.
If the film were to have a much more coherent plot and if Goro-san had stuck to his father’s classic style, Earwig and the Witch would have been a much better end product but ultimately falls way short of the legacy and standard that the studio holds – we are sure that younger animation fans will have at least some fun with it though.
Earwig and the Witch is OUT NOW in UK Cinemas. Subbed and Dubbed (reviewed) versions available.
