I for one am a big Studio Ghibli fan and was very interested to see their new film. “Earwig and the Witch” moves away from Studio Ghibli’s traditional 2D style and ventures into 3D animation. I personally love Ghibli’s traditional style, but I went into the film with an open mind.
“Earwig and the Witch” is directed by Gorō Miyazaki, son of acclaimed animator and co-founder of Studio Ghibli Hayao Miyazaki. The film follows a young orphan girl who was left at a children’s home by a mysterious witch. Now older, Earwig rules the children’s home, content with living her whole life there. However, when a witch and a demon come to adopt her, her life quickly turns upside down.
I went into the movie putting my personal biases aside, not wanting them to cloud my honest judgment of the film. I was initially bummed about not seeing the traditional Ghibli style, but I understood why the studio wanted to try something new. Aside from the not so aesthetically pleasing animation style, I was eager to see how Ghibli’s magic translates to 3D animation.
Boy was I wrong! The film had all the appropriate characteristics of a Studio Ghibli film: strong-willed heroine, cute magical companions, witches, and adventure. Actually, scratch the last one. What the film lacked were the chaotically fun-filled adventures that the heroine goes on. The movie felt like an hour and a half of steady building, never reaching the full climax.
The whole movie just follows an annoying young girl who gains no character development. She starts out as an obnoxious young orphan and ends with the same personality. Her only goal in life seemingly is to manipulate the people around her to get what she wants.
Now her new “adoptive” parents turn out to be a witch and a demon, but the magic stops there. The Mandrake (demon) mainly stays in his room, but when he comes out he’s just angry and demanding food. The witch on the other hand runs an in-home business where she uses her magical skills to make people potions for all their tedious mundane issues.
Other than the magic used to make potions, there was no other magic used in the film. Which is completely okay, but the story was bland without it. The plot was weak and incomplete. There was no climax or falling action, or if there was it was so subtle that it was not noticeable. And don’t even get me started on the ending! The film ended in a cliffhanger, which is a good way to grab the viewer’s attention and leave them eager for the next installment—yet that did not work in this movie’s favor.
When the movie ended, I had no idea it was already coming to an end! The “cliffhanger” felt like the long-awaited climax which was going to finally get the action started—that was not the case. The ending was abrupt and left me wondering why I spent my time watching a movie that’s plot felt like it was still in the development stage.
The movie was a nice idea, but it was painstakingly obvious that the creators focused most of their time on the animation rather than the plot. “Earwig and the Witch” lacked all the heart and whimsical fun that makes Ghibli, Ghibli.
Even though I tried liking this movie, it failed to hold much of my attention. If the future of Studio Ghibli is going to produce more films like this one, I will definitely be sticking with the older content.
The Beat @APU 