Earwig and the Witch
studio ghibliFor the first time in 6-years, legendary Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli is back with Gorō Miyazaki – son of animation god Hayao Miyazaki – stepping into the director's chair for the third time. Adapting the novel of the same name, Earwig and the Witch follows the young and exuberant Aya (Kokoro Hirasawa) as she is adopted from her comfortable foster home to live with the mysterious Bella Yaga (Shinobu Terajima) and Mandrake (Etsushi Toyokawa), who claim to know magic. Earwig and the Witch is a strange yet unremarkable outing for the traditionally strong studio, proving that a change in style isn't enough for Gorō Miyazaki to find his voice or craft.
What will immediately stand out to most regarding the feature is its animation. Taking a CGI animation style for the first time in the studio's nearly 25-year history, Earwig and the Witch instantly stands out among the studio's filmography for the wrong reason. Studio Ghibli crafted its place as the master studio of animation largely due to the incredible hand-drawn visuals which brought iconic worlds to life with a craft not seen from the genre before. By switching to CGI, Earwig and the Witch was always going to be a step down visually – no matter how impressive the film actually was for the style of animation. It doesn't help that the animation itself is far from impressive. Whilst the backgrounds look nice and the occasional shot will flow together with quality, the average character animation is awkward and the facial expressions are laughably bad. Still, this decision seemed like it could be the correct one, considering it was Gorō Miyazaki directing it. Miyazaki has struggled historically with hand-drawn animation, trying to both capture the magic of earlier Studio Ghibli while also trying to find his own personal voice. After his last feature with the studio, From Up on Poppy Hill, Miyazaki seemingly found his voice in television with Ronja, the Robber's Daughter which had a similar style of animation to that of Earwig and the Witch. If Miyazaki had to use this different animation style to be able to find his voice then that is a tradeoff that would be justifiable but it is clear with Earwig and the Witch that this isn't the case.
The plot of Earwig and the Witch is equally confusing as it is boring. The film does little to hook the audience or develop the story past futile side plots and sequences that feel pointless. As one watches the film, no purpose or direction is conjured from the film's screenplay, leading to a dull and meaningless viewing experience for the most part. It also doesn't help that the film feels oddly problematic in its portrayals of relationships between parents and children. From children manipulating their parents to parents physically abusing their children. The power dynamics feel not only tone-deaf but are also never addressed. There is no development that justifies this relationship continuing or being fixed with the literal abuse becoming an afterthought near immediately.
The film just also does very little with its characters and world. For a world filled with witchcraft and talking cats, Earwig and the Witch is rather boring and repetitive. Rather than playing with the magic to create an enchanting and exciting story, the film lacks any sense of wonder as it does the bare minimum with its world. There isn't a single idea within the film that feels truly inspired or creative, with it seemingly just going through the motions for the entire 82-minute runtime. The ending is also not only out of nowhere but makes no sense. The reveal, as one could call it, is completely irrelevant both to what has come before and what has come after, with the conclusion feeling more like a game of mad libs rather than a crafted arch. The most offensive thing throughout the film, however, would be its soundtrack. This is the side of the film that truly borders on incompetence as the style of the soundtrack changes every 5-minutes and never quite matches the emotions of a scene.
Whilst these negatives feel undeniable and clearly stand out, it would also be wrong to say that the film is a complete failure. Some of the character designs feel decently unique for the animated space they are playing in and there are the strange small moments that do work. Things like the relationship between Aya and Mandrake give the movie touches of life and make it at least watchable for a single viewing. It is hard to imagine that the film would hold up in nearly any way on a rewatch, but for the first viewing, it at least is watchable.
There are multiple ways one could judge Earwig and the Witch. As a Studio Ghibli project, the film feels near-disastrous, standing as not only Gorō Miyazaki's personal worst directorial effort but also the studio's worst outing overall. In the larger context of the animation genre, however, the film feels more passable than anything else. At no point is the film offensively bad to the point where it truly felt like a pain to sit through but rather just a flawed and empty film with little substance or purpose.
