Earwig and the Witch

***Earwig and the Witch*** (Japanese: アーヤと魔女, Hepburn: *Āya to Majo*, lit. "Āya and the Witch") is a Japanese CGI anime fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki, and is based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. The original voice cast includes Shinobu Terajima, Etsushi Toyokawa, Gaku Hamada, and Kokoro Hirasawa.

A co-production between Studio Ghibli, NHK and NHK Enterprises, the film originally aired on television on December 30, 2020 on NHK General TV, and is scheduled to be released in IMAX theaters by Toho on April 29, 2021.

## Plot

In 1990s England, a witch leaves her child, Earwig, at St. Morwald's Home for Children. The matron head of the home thinks that the name is unfit for a child, and changes it to Erica Wigg. Years later, Earwig is a rambunctious 10-year-old who is very comfortable in an orphanage where everyone does what she wants. She likes living there with her friend Custard, and doesn't want to get adopted.

One day, a strange couple, Bella Yaga and Mandrake, adopt Earwig against her wishes. When they get home, Bella Yaga tells Earwig that she is a witch, and that she only adopted Earwig for "an extra pair of hands" to help around the house. Earwig agrees to help, only if Bella Yaga teaches her magic in return. Earwig prepares ingredients for spells, and cleans the workroom. Tired of working, she attempts to get out of the house, only to find that all the exits have been magically sealed by Mandrake. She becomes further frustrated because Bella Yaga never teaches her magic.

Earwig begins to listen to tapes from an old band called Earwig, and discovers that Bella Yaga's cat familiar Thomas can talk. The two of them enter the workroom at night to create a spell that will make them resistant to magic, becoming immune to Bella Yaga's punishments. They also work on a spell to give Bella Yaga a literal "extra pair of hands" on her body so Earwig would be dismissed from her work.

The spell is a success and Bella Yaga is furious at her extra pair of hands, and casts magical worms that appear in Earwig's room. Because of Earwig's magical resistance, the worms are harmless and Earwig sends the worms through a hole in the wall, but that angers Mandrake. In the ensuing chaos, Earwig breaks into Mandrake's room and discovers he and Bella Yaga were members of the band.

Through her new power, Earwig is able to take over the house and have the others to do what she wants. She even manages to get her friend Custard to come over for Christmas. When he arrives, Earwig's mother, another member of the band, drops in for a surprise visit.

## Characters

* **Earwig** (**Āya**; voiced by Kokoro Hirasawa in Japanese and Taylor Paige Henderson in English)
* **Bella Yaga** (voiced by Shinobu Terajima in Japanese and Vanessa Marshall in English)
* **Mandrake** (voiced by Etsushi Toyokawa in Japanese and Richard E. Grant in English)
* **Thomas** (voiced by Gaku Hamada In Japanese and Dan Stevens in English)
* **Earwig's Mother** (**Āya's Mother**; voiced by Sherina Munaf in Japanese and Kacey Musgraves in English)
* **Mr. Jenkins** (voiced by Yuji Ueda in Japanese and JB Blanc in English)
* **Matron** (voiced by Shinobu Terajima in Japanese and Pandora Colin in English)
* **Custard** (voiced by Yūsei Saitō in Japanese and Logan Hannan in English)
* **Phyllis** (voiced by Sherina Munaf in Japanese and Summer Jenkins in English)
* **Sally** (voiced by Kokoro Hirasawa in Japanese and Vivienne Rutherford in English)
* **Assistant Matron** (voiced by Sherina Munaf in Japanese and Alex Cartañá in English)
* **Cook** (voiced by Etsushi Toyokawa in Japanese and Tom Bromhead in English)
* **Assistant Cook** (voiced by Sherina Munaf in Japanese and Eva Kaminsky in English)

## Production

Directed by Gorō Miyazaki, the film was announced as the first full 3D CG animated film by Studio Ghibli and was scheduled for a television premiere on NHK in late 2020. On June 19, 2020, images from the film were revealed by Miyazaki. Goro said that his father told him to go with it and Toshio Suzuki encouraged him, but after that he was left on his own and made the anime with young staff and "didn't consult with the old guys at all". He also said that he is the only one at the studio who knows the method of creating CG animation. Satoshi Takebe composed the music for the film. The theme song "Don't Disturb Me" and ending theme "Atashi no Sekai Seifuku" (あたしの世界征服) are performed by a team composed of Sherina Munaf on vocals, Hiroki Kamemoto of Glim Spanky on guitar, Kiyokazu Takano of Mrs. Green Apple on bass, Kavka Shishido on drums, and Takebe on keyboards.

## Release

The film was scheduled to premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It instead premiered at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon Metropolis, on October 18, 2020.

In November 2020, the cast and crew information, along with its plot details and broadcast date were announced. It aired on NHK General TV on December 30, 2020.

As with Ghibli's other features, Wild Bunch handles the international sales of the film. On July 7, 2020, Studio Ghibli's North American distributor GKIDS announced they had acquired the North American distribution rights to the film and that the film would be set for a theatrical release date of early 2021 in North America. On January 7, 2021, GKIDS announced that the movie would receive a limited theatrical release beginning on February 3, while it would be added to HBO Max on February 5. The film was released digitally on March 23, 2021, and on Blu-ray and DVD on April 6, 2021.

On September 11, 2020, Wild Bunch confirmed they had purchased the distribution rights to Studio Ghibli's films in France from previous distributor Disney, and that they would handle distribution of the film both theatrically and on home media in the country.

On December 3, 2020, the Elysian Film Group acquired the British and Irish distribution rights to the movie, becoming its very first film acquisition after founding in February that year. This will make it the first theatrical release of a Ghibli film since Princess Mononoke not to be distributed by StudioCanal UK in the region.

On February 11, 2021, Toho announced that the film would be released theatrically in Japan on April 29, 2021. This version will include some scenes not shown on the TV version.

## Goofs/Errors

* As this was Studio Ghibli's first fully-CGI film, it's a major departure from their previous work, and the movie overall feels rather experimental.
* The story is incoherent and bland, also very confusing.

* When the movie feels like it's starting to pick up, it just abruptly ends on a blatant cliffhanger. This is actually the same with the book that the movie is based on, as well.

* The movie's locations are rather bland, with most of the story taking place in the same boring locations.
* Earwig's model looks awful & nightmarish, and it would have been better if it were in traditional 2D style.
* A number of things that could be plot points are brought up, but then dropped with little to no elaboration.
* The characters are flat and underdeveloped.

* Earwig in particular, is a very unlikable character, as she's bratty and manipulative.

* Most of the time, the humor is hit or miss.
* The lip-syncing for the English dub is just awful.
* Sometimes the voice acting sounds a bit off.
* Much like Tales From Earthsea, Goro Miyazaki tainted his father's legacy once again.
* **Misleading Poster:** As you can see the poster, it's supposed to be a musical band adventure movie, but in the movie itself, it isn't.
* Some facial expressions of the characters make them look like aliens.

## Trivia

* The ideas within the story are pretty interesting, if only they were better used.
* The music is pretty well done.
* Most of the voice acting is alright.
* The intro sequence is done very well.
* The movie is Studio Ghibli's first fully-CGI animated film.
* The reason for the poor quality was mainly due to the fact that Goro Miyazaki was the only person in the Studio Ghibli office to know about CGI animation, and that he "didn't consult with the old guys at all" during development with a younger staff, plus, he is not an experienced director, as shown with Tales From Earthsea two decades earlier.

## Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 34% of 44 critic reviews are positive for Earwig and the Witch, and the average rating is 5.20/10. The critics consensus on the website is: "With a story as uninspired as its animation, Earwig and the Witch is a surprising — and near-total — misfire for Studio Ghibli." According to Metacritic, which calculated a weighted average score of 45 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, the film received "mixed or average reviews".

Earwig and the Witch earned $173,704 at the North American box office and $174,478 from overseas territories, bringing its total box office gross to $348,182.