As if announcing their plans to bring the Naruto stage play to cinema screens wasn’t a big enough Christmas treat, Australian anime publisher Madman Entertainment has also confirmed plans to screen Studio Ghibli’s first 3DCG animated feature film Earwig and The Witch in early 2021. Both Australian and New Zealand venues have been confirmed, with specific locations and dates to be unveiled in the new year.
Directed by Goro Miyazaki (From Up on Poppy Hill) with planning from his father, the legendary Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away), Earwig and the Witch is the first film from Studio Ghibli since 2014’s When Marnie Was There. It adapts the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, who is no stranger to the animation studio, having also been the original writer of Howl’s Moving Castle.
The English-language version of Earwig and the Witch features voice acting from Richard E. Grant (Withnail and I, Gosford Park), Kacey Musgraves (“Golden Hour”, “Same Trailer Different Park”) and Dan Stevens (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, FX’s Legion).
The Story of Earwig and the Witch
Growing up in an orphanage in the British countryside, Earwig has no idea that her mother had magical powers. Her life changes dramatically when a strange couple takes her in, and she is forced to live with a selfish witch. As the headstrong young girl sets out to uncover the secrets of her new guardians, she discovers a world of spells and potions, and a mysterious song that may be the key to finding the family she has always wanted.
