Studio Ghibli, luminaries of the 2D animation industry for decades, have tried something different with their latest film – Earwig and the Witch – and brought their creative works to the third-dimension! Curious about whether they pulled this ambitious transition off? Starting today, anime fans in select countries such as Australia and the United States can head to their local cinema (if save to do so during the pandemic) and check it out!
With venues locked in for both Australia and New Zealand, Australian anime publisher Madman Entertainment has commenced their limited-time screenings at select cinemas. Given what I would put down to the film having broader appeal, Madman have brought Earwig and the Witch to many more venues than their usual cinematic releases – particularly in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.
In the United States, Earwig and the Witch will debut in select cinemas from today as well kudos of GKids Films, before streaming via HBO Max a couple of days later from 5 February 2021.
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.
