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Earwig and the Witch | HearLore
Common questions
When was the film Earwig and the Witch first scheduled to premiere?
The film Earwig and the Witch was originally scheduled to premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It instead premiered at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon on the 18th of October 2020.
Who directed the animated film Earwig and the Witch?
Director Gorō Miyazaki led the production of the animated film Earwig and the Witch as the son of the studio's legendary founder Hayao Miyazaki. He was the only person at Studio Ghibli who knew the method of creating CG animation and made the decision to work with young staff without consulting the old guard.
What is the address of the house where Earwig and the Witch takes place?
The house where Earwig and the Witch takes place is located at 13 Lime Avenue. This location becomes a stage for a chaotic Christmas celebration that defies the strict rules of the witch and the wizard.
When was the Earwig and the Witch Songbook album released?
The album Earwig and the Witch Songbook: 13 Lime Avenue was released on the 26th of January 2022. The album is credited to the film's fictional band Earwig and features vocals by Sherina Munaf and members of Glim Spanky.
How did critics rate the animated film Earwig and the Witch?
The animated film Earwig and the Witch received negative reviews from critics with a 28% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 69 critic reviews. According to Metacritic, the film received mixed or average reviews with a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on 21 reviews.
Earwig and the Witch
The first full 3D computer-generated animated film from Studio Ghibli arrived in 2020 with a reputation that would haunt its legacy before it even hit the screens. Director Gorō Miyazaki, the son of the studio's legendary founder Hayao Miyazaki, had been tasked with leading a new generation of animators into uncharted digital territory. He was the only person at the studio who knew the method of creating CG animation, and he made the decision to work with young staff without consulting the old guard. This isolationist approach resulted in a film that critics would later describe as a plastic coffin, suffocating the studio's signature aesthetic with lifeless backdrops and characters that looked like cheap dolls devoid of human emotion. The film, titled Earwig and the Witch, was originally scheduled to premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, but the global pandemic forced a pivot to the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon on the 18th of October 2020. The shift in venue and the subsequent critical backlash set the stage for a story that was as much about the internal struggles of a legendary studio as it was about the plot of the film itself.
The Orphanage Girl
In 1990s England, a witch leaves her child at St. Morwald's Home for Children, but the matron head of the home thinks the name is unfit and changes it to Erica Wigg. Years pass, and the child, now known as Earwig, is a rambunctious 10-year-old who is very comfortable in an orphanage where everyone does what she wants. She likes living there with her friend Custard and does not want to get adopted, preferring the chaotic freedom of the institution over the structured life of a family. One day, a strange couple, Bella Yaga and Mandrake, adopt Earwig against her wishes. When they get home, Bella Yaga tells Earwig that she is a witch, and that she only adopted Earwig for an extra pair of hands to help around the house. Earwig agrees to help, only if Bella Yaga teaches her magic in return. The arrangement quickly sours when Earwig attempts to leave the house and finds that all the exits have been magically sealed by Mandrake. She becomes further frustrated because Bella Yaga never teaches her any magic, leaving the girl to clean the workroom and prepare ingredients for spells while her freedom is slowly stripped away.
The Secret Band
Earwig begins to listen to tapes from an old band called Earwig and discovers that Bella Yaga's cat familiar Thomas can talk. The two of them enter the workroom at night to create a spell that will make them resistant to magic, becoming immune to Bella Yaga's punishments. They also work on a spell to give Bella Yaga a literal extra pair of hands on her body so Earwig would be dismissed from her work. The spell is a success and Bella Yaga is furious at her extra pair of hands, and casts magical worms that appear in Earwig's room. Because of Earwig's magical resistance, the worms are harmless. Earwig sends the worms through a hole in the wall, which angers Mandrake. In the ensuing chaos, Earwig breaks into Mandrake's room and discovers he and Bella Yaga were members of the band Earwig. Mandrake appears and tells the tale of the band, revealing that their singer was Earwig's mother. This revelation transforms the dynamic of the house, as Earwig is no longer just a servant but the daughter of the band's former lead singer, and the house becomes a place where the past and present collide in a magical rebellion.
When was the film Earwig and the Witch released on HBO Max?
The film Earwig and the Witch was added to HBO Max on the 5th of February 2021. It was released digitally on the 23rd of March 2021 and on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on the 6th of April 2021.
Through her new power, Earwig is able to take over the house and have the others do what she wants. She even manages to invite her friend Custard over for Christmas. When he arrives, Earwig's mother drops in for a surprise visit. The house, located at 13 Lime Avenue, becomes a stage for a chaotic Christmas celebration that defies the strict rules of the witch and the wizard. The film's soundtrack, composed by Satoshi Takebe, features a theme song titled Don't Disturb Me and an ending theme performed by a specially-formed band. The band includes Sherina Munaf on vocals, Hiroki Kamemoto of Glim Spanky on guitar, Kiyokazu Takano of Mrs. Green Apple on bass, Kavka Shishido on drums, and Takebe on keyboards. The album Earwig and the Witch Songbook: 13 Lime Avenue, credited to the film's fictional band Earwig, was released on the 26th of January 2022. Glim Spanky, who contributed two songs to the record, received the offer as Miyazaki is a fan of theirs. Their track The House in Lime Avenue was influenced by Irish folk songs and those of England's Nick Drake, while their other contribution, A Black Cat, featured vocals by Remi Matsuo that were conscious of the melodies and gospel harmonies of Aretha Franklin, with a rhythm inspired by that of The Rolling Stones' song Sympathy for the Devil.
The Digital Dilemma
The production of Earwig and the Witch marked a significant turning point for Studio Ghibli, as it was the first full 3D CG animated film from the studio. Gorō Miyazaki announced the film on the 19th of June 2020, revealing images that showed a stark departure from the hand-drawn style that had defined the studio's history. He said that his father told him to go with it and Toshio Suzuki encouraged him, but after that he was left on his own and made the anime with young staff and didn't consult with the old guys at all. This decision to work in isolation led to a film that many critics felt lacked the soul of previous Ghibli works. The film was scheduled to premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It instead premiered at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon Metropolis on the 18th of October 2020. The film aired on NHK General TV on the 30th of December 2020, and was later released theatrically in Japan by Toho on the 27th of August 2021. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc by Pony Canyon on the 1st of December 2021, making it the first Studio Ghibli movie since the original VHS release of Whisper of the Heart not to have Walt Disney Japan as home video distributor.
The Critical Misfire
The film received negative reviews from critics, with a 28% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 69 critic reviews. The critics consensus on the website stated that with a story as uninspired as its animation, Earwig and the Witch is a surprising and near-total misfire for Studio Ghibli. According to Metacritic, which calculated a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on 21 reviews, the film received mixed or average reviews. Writing for IndieWire, David Ehrlich gave the film a C− and said that while Earwig and the Witch is far from the ugliest film of its kind, there's something uniquely perverse about seeing Ghibli's signature aesthetic suffocated inside a plastic coffin and sapped of its brilliant soul. Vox's Aja Romano gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and said that there are some moments early on when there are still shots of nature, or slow Ghibli-esque pans across landscapes, but these isolated shots don't connect to a larger overall mood, characterization, or thematic idea. The film grossed a modest amount at the North American box office and from other territories, with a worldwide total that fell short of expectations for a Studio Ghibli production.
The Global Release
On the 7th of July 2020, Studio Ghibli's North American distributor GKIDS announced they had acquired the North American distribution rights to the film and that the film would be set for a theatrical release date of early 2021 in North America. On the 7th of January 2021, GKIDS announced that the film would receive a limited theatrical release beginning on the 3rd of February, while it would be added to HBO Max on the 5th of February. The film was released digitally on the 23rd of March 2021, and on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on the 6th of April 2021. The GKIDS release of the film is the same as the Japanese theatrical version. As with Ghibli's other features, Wild Bunch handles the international sales of the film. On the 11th of September 2020, Wild Bunch confirmed they had purchased the distribution rights to Studio Ghibli's films in France from previous distributor Disney, and that they would handle distribution of the film both theatrically and on home media in the country. On the 3rd of December 2020, it was announced that Elysian Film Group had acquired the British and Irish distribution rights to the film, becoming the company's very first film acquisition after it was founded in February that year. This will make it the first theatrical release of a Ghibli film since Princess Mononoke not to be distributed by StudioCanal UK in the region. Elysian released the film in cinemas on the 28th of May 2021, on over 100 screens and only dubbed into English, and later released it on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on the 27th of September 2021.
The Voice Cast
The original voice cast includes Shinobu Terajima, Etsushi Toyokawa, Gaku Hamada, and Kokoro Hirasawa. In the English dub, Taylor Paige Henderson voices Earwig, Vanessa Marshall voices Bella Yaga, Richard E. Grant voices Mandrake, and Dan Stevens voices Thomas. Sherina Munaf voices Earwig's Mother, and Kacey Musgraves also provides vocals for the film's soundtrack. The film's cast also includes Yuji Ueda as Mr. Jenkins, JB Blanc as Matron Pandora, Logan Hannan as Custard, Sally Vivienne Rutherford as Phyllis Summer Jenkins, Alex Cartañá as Assistant Matron, Tom Bromhead as Cook, and Eva Kaminsky as Assistant Cook. The film's music was composed by Satoshi Takebe, and the theme song Don't Disturb Me and ending theme are performed by a specially-formed band. The album Earwig and the Witch Songbook: 13 Lime Avenue, credited to the film's fictional band Earwig, was released on the 26th of January 2022. In addition to the above musicians, the album also features Glim Spanky vocalist Remi Matsuo and Yoasobi support musician Hikaru Yamamoto. The film's release and reception marked a significant moment in the history of Studio Ghibli, as it was the first full 3D CG animated film from the studio and the first to be released on HBO Max in the United States.