IMDb RATING
4.7/10
6.2K
YOUR RATING
An orphan girl, Earwig, is adopted by a witch and comes home to a spooky house filled with mystery and magic.An orphan girl, Earwig, is adopted by a witch and comes home to a spooky house filled with mystery and magic.An orphan girl, Earwig, is adopted by a witch and comes home to a spooky house filled with mystery and magic.
- Awards
- 2 nominations total
Taylor Henderson
- Earwig
- (English version)
- (voice)
Jazmín Abuín
- Madre de earwig
- (voice)
JB Blanc
- Mr. Jenkins
- (English version)
- (voice)
Tom Bromhead
- Cook
- (English version)
- (voice)
- (as Thomas Bromhead)
Alex Cartañá
- Assistant Matron
- (English version)
- (voice)
Pandora Colin
- Matron
- (English version)
- (voice)
Richard E. Grant
- The Mandrake
- (English version)
- (voice)
Gaku Hamada
- Tômasu
- (voice)
Logan Hannan
- Custard
- (English version)
- (voice)
Kokoro Hirasawa
- Âya
- (voice)
Summer Jenkins
- Phyllis
- (English version)
- (voice)
Eva Kaminsky
- Assistant Cook
- (English version)
- (voice)
Vanessa Marshall
- Bella Yaga
- (English version)
- (voice)
Sherina Munaf
- Earwig's Mother
- (voice)
- (as Sherina Munafu)
Kacey Musgraves
- Earwig's Mother
- (English version)
- (voice)
Vivienne Rutherford
- Sally
- (English version)
- (voice)
Dan Stevens
- Thomas
- (English version)
- (voice)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe end credits feature a montage of still illustrations done in traditional pencil and ink style, unlike the preceding 80 minutes of CG animation. These static drawings show events that happen after the end of the movie. A similar technique was done in an earlier Ghibli movie, My Neighbor Totoro (1988). In one of them, Earwig is seen watching on her brand new TV another Studio Ghibli animated movie, Howl's Moving Castle (2004).
- ConnectionsFeatured in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: The Sega Smol Boi (2020)
- SoundtracksDon't Disturb Me
Lyrics by Gorô Miyazaki
Music by Satoshi Takebe
Vocals by Sherina Munaf
Guitars: Hiroki Kamemoto (from Glim Spanky)
Bass: Kiyokazu Takano (from Mrs. Green Apple)
Drums: Kavka Shishido
Keyboards: Satoshi Takebe
Featured review
Devoid of all the simple aesthetics, elegant touch & magical qualities that fans have come to expect from a Studio Ghibli presentation, Earwig and the Witch marks their first foray into 3D computer-generated feature filmmaking but the story in itself is so dull, bland & uninspiring that the film as a whole turns out to be the studio's first real misfire and is a disappointment on all fronts.
Directed by Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea & From Up on Poppy Hill), the film simply fails to create any sort of intrigue or excitement from start to finish, and is so uneventful & unimaginative that despite it being about magic & witches, it never for once feels magical. The narrative has no sense of direction or purpose and there is barely any effort to make the characters compelling enough to garner our interest.
In addition to that, the studio's patented animation which over the years had played an essential role in infusing depth, richness & resonance to its hand-drawn imagery is unceremoniously replaced by computer-generated animation that not only seems rather ordinary & outdated but is also hollow, lifeless & soulless from within. There's a glossy, synthetic vibe to its images that just doesn't feel right plus the rendering is also lacking an organic flair.
Overall, Earwig and the Witch is absolutely unworthy of Studio Ghibli banner and is hands down the famed animation studio's worst entry to date. It is a departure from everything its production house stands for, and it doesn't even have the storytelling basics covered. One can't even argue that it aims for something ambitious but fails, for there is hardly any story at all. Putting a blemish on Studio Ghibli's unblemished legacy, Goro Miyazaki's latest is nothing less than an embarrassment.
Directed by Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea & From Up on Poppy Hill), the film simply fails to create any sort of intrigue or excitement from start to finish, and is so uneventful & unimaginative that despite it being about magic & witches, it never for once feels magical. The narrative has no sense of direction or purpose and there is barely any effort to make the characters compelling enough to garner our interest.
In addition to that, the studio's patented animation which over the years had played an essential role in infusing depth, richness & resonance to its hand-drawn imagery is unceremoniously replaced by computer-generated animation that not only seems rather ordinary & outdated but is also hollow, lifeless & soulless from within. There's a glossy, synthetic vibe to its images that just doesn't feel right plus the rendering is also lacking an organic flair.
Overall, Earwig and the Witch is absolutely unworthy of Studio Ghibli banner and is hands down the famed animation studio's worst entry to date. It is a departure from everything its production house stands for, and it doesn't even have the storytelling basics covered. One can't even argue that it aims for something ambitious but fails, for there is hardly any story at all. Putting a blemish on Studio Ghibli's unblemished legacy, Goro Miyazaki's latest is nothing less than an embarrassment.
- CinemaClown
- Apr 6, 2021
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $173,704
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $92,029
- Feb 7, 2021
- Gross worldwide
- $842,744
- Runtime1 hour 22 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content