Earwig and the Witch Pioneers a New Frontier for Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli s first CGI feature sees the passing of the torch from father to son.
Studio Ghibli
Hayao Miyazaki is not a fan of computer animation. Often noted is a scene from the documentary
Never-Ending Man, in which he resolutely slams AI-generated CGI animation in particular. His dedication to (and sponsorship of) the artistry of hand-drawn animation is a major part of why Japanese CGI animation technology has been so slow to advance, while the country’s traditional 2D industry flourishes at home and abroad.
It is appropriate, then, that not he but his son,
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Earwig And The Witch Conjures New Possibilities Its first feature-length film in years finds the celebrated animation house in the midst of transformation
By Erica Russell
For nearly four decades, Studio Ghibli has captured the hearts and imaginations of global moviegoers. Co-founded by celebrated Japanese auteur Hayao Miyazaki in 1985, the Tokyo-based studio has produced dozens of iconic films, including 1988âs beloved
My Neighbor Totoro and 2001âs Academy Award-winning
Spirited Away. Its pictures deliver whimsical adventures at once sweeping and small-scale, unforgettable characters, breathtaking animation and music, and complexly layered narratives that refuse to talk down to even its youngest audience members. Ghibliâs latest offering,
Goro Miyazaki on what makes a Studio Ghibli film: ‘I wish somebody could give me an answer’
The famed animation studio returns with its first 3D CG movie, Earwig and the Witch
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Earwig and the Witch doesn’t look like a Studio Ghibli film.
It’s the famed studio’s first foray into CG animation, and it’s a big departure from lush, hand-drawn films like
Spirited Away and
That’s a big task to take on, and leading the charge is director Goro Miyazaki, son of studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki. After reluctantly following his father into animation Goro originally spent years working as a landscape designer this is his third film, following
2/5/2021
Richard E. Grant and Kacey Musgraves lend their voices to the English-language version of the latest Studio Ghibli offering.
The Studio Ghibli faithful will unlikely be swept away by
Earwig and the Witch (definitely not to be confused with
Hedwig and the Angry Inch), a pronounced departure from tradition that proves dispiritingly generic in both appearance and tone.
Directed by Goro Miyazaki his acclaimed father Hayao, receives a “planning” credit here the studio’s first feature in four years is also the first to forego its trademark hand-drawn, two-dimensional animation with full-blown 3D CG that feels as jarringly intrusive as it does coldly anonymous.
Image: Studio Ghibli
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Earwig and the Witch opens with a familiar scene. An old Citroën races down the road, immediately invoking Hayao Miyazaki’s 1979 anime
The Castle of Cagliostro. But here, the Citroën 2CV is yellow and in hot pursuit, with its grill turning into needle-like teeth, barreling towards a woman with curly red hair escaping on a motorcycle.