Studio Ghibli’s Earwig and the Witch Movie Review

Earwig and the Witch is the first computer generated movie from Studio Ghibli. Directed
by Goro Miyazaki, the son of the eighty-year-old animation legend Hayao Miyazaki. Released
on the year 2020, it was based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. The film
revolves around a headstrong orphan, Earwig discovering a world of spells and potions while
living with a selfish witch.
The film started with baby Earwig being left by her biological mother on the doorsteps of
an orphanage, along with a note: “Got the other 12 witches all chasing me. I’ll be back for her
when I’ve shook them off. It may take years.” The Matron renamed the baby Erica Wig, who
grew up to be a cheerful optimistic kid. She was later adopted by a witch who needs a helper
with her spells.
Although the film is a little different from the traditional-classic 2D hand drawn
animation that Studio Ghibli has been doing for years, for their first 3D animated movie, the
animation of Earwig and the Witch came out great and flawless. I love how they paid attention to
every small details. Another beautiful thing about the movie is the catchy fusion of Eastern
European folk music and rock n’ roll, which played several times in the movie. Another main
difference I noticed between the shift of animation style is that I think kids who will watch this
will enjoy it more compared to adults who enjoyed the hand drawn animation of Ghibli.
Although the movie received a lot of negative feedbacks regarding its animation or not
being much like a Ghibli movie, it is still a great movie for CGI test run film. Plotwise, it can do
much better. If you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli and wishes to watch “Earwig and the Witch” it is
wise to keep your expectations low if you’re hoping for theatrical masterpiece like How’s
Moving castle or Spirited Away. But that shouldn’t keep anyone from hoping for bigger and
better things in Ghibli’s future.