'Earwig and the Witch' Isn't Bad, but It's Still a Misstep for Studio Ghibli

Finally.  Studio Ghibli returns after a six-year hiatus!  For its comeback, the prestigious anime studio ventures for the first time into producing a computer-animated film.  Titled Earwig and the Witch, it is an adaptation of the 2011 book of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, who is also the author of the novel that Howl’s Moving Castle, one of Ghibli’s best movies, was loosely based on.

The plot is set in 90s England, and revolves around a 10-year-old girl named Erica Wigg.  When she was still a baby, her mother, who was a witch that’s on the run from her coven, left her at an orphanage.  Erica’s original name was supposed to be “Earwig”, but the matron of the orphanage thought it was an unfit name for a child, thus, changing it to “Erica Wigg.”  Earwig maintains a happy, boisterous, satisfied life in the orphanage, as she spends her days hanging out with her best friend Custard, enjoying shepherd’s pie, and getting everyone to adore her and do what she wants.  Hence, she has no desire to get adopted.

Unfortunately for Earwig, a peculiar couple visits the orphanage one day, and they end up choosing her for adoption.  In her new home, Eerwig learns that the woman, Bella Yaga, is a witch, and the man, Mandrake, is a grumpy demonic entity of sorts who has an army of small demons doing his bidding and who likes to keep to himself.  According to Bella Yaga, the only reason she adopted Earwig is because she needs a servant.  Nevertheless, Earwig agrees to help Bella with her work, but only if she teaches her magic.  However, when it becomes clear that Bella has no intention of ever mentoring her, a fed-up Earwig decides to scheme with Thomas, Bella’s black cat familiar, to get back at her.

As a Ghibli film, Earwig and the Witch is disappointing.  Visually, it’s pretty lackluster.  By that, I don’t mean that the 3D animation is bad.  It’s actually pretty decent – reminds me of the style of the most recent Lupin III movie.  But Ghibli is known for its exquisite, breathtaking hand-drawn animation, and with that as benchmark, the 3D animation of Earwig and the Witch just looks extremely inferior.  Indeed, Ghibli should have just played to their strengths.

With the kind of prestige attached to the Ghibli name, “good enough” 3D animation just won’t do for them.  They ought to rise up to the high standards that they have set for themselves and have now been expected of them.  That means that, if they couldn’t make a computer-animated film that’s in par with the quality of Pixar or Disney Animation, they should have not made it in the first place.

Truly, Earwig and the Witch should have been animated through the traditional means.  It would have definitely been much more delightful if it had been so.

I don’t know how much of an effect the animation has on its narrative, but I also found the narrative of Earwig and the Witch lacking the nuance, magnetism, and emotion that one can expect from a Ghibli film.  I haven’t read the book, so I can’t tell how much of this is attributable to the director’s storytelling and how much is on the original author’s writing.  Regardless, its narrative just doesn’t have that usual Ghibli punch.

Furthermore, just when the movie is starting to resolve this one major plot thread, it just ends abruptly.  It was as if it was there’s going to be a sequel, but it wasn’t clear about it.

Still, Earwig and the Witch may be disappointing for a Ghibli film, but by itself, it’s actually an enjoyable animated film.  It has adequate wit, whimsy, heart, and sense of humor.  And it may have shortcomings with its visuals, but at least, the sound design and soundtrack are genuinely fantastic.  Plus, I don’t know what it is with anime based on Western children’s books, but there’s always something immediately endearing about them; this movie has beats that are reminiscent of the World Masterpiece Theater shows I loved as a kid.  On top of that, it almost gives off the same enthralling vibes inherent in macabre stop-motion masterpieces like Frankenweenie, Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, that I’m led to imagine that if Ghibli opted for stop-motion animation instead of CG, Earwig and the Witch would have certainly given the impression of being more well-crafted and enchanting.

Truly, Earwig and the Witch has enough to offer to not be boring.

One thing, however, that may annoy audiences is Earwig herself.  She’s actually a pretty manipulative character.  Her whole motivation is getting people to do what she wants them to do.  I can’t blame you if you find her obnoxious.  But in my case, I kind of get what the story is going for with this character.  And thus, I find her attitude to be more zany than bratty.

In the end, I was entertained by Earwig and the Witch.  One may appreciate its merits more if one forgets that it’s a Ghibli film.  Unfortunately, the fact that it’s a Ghibli film can’t really be ignored.  And at the end of the day, this still counts as an L for the revered animation studio.