Earwig and the Witch

In late 20th century England, a witch leaves her child Earwig at St. Morwald's Home for Children. The matron head of the home thinks that the name is unfit for a child, and changes it to Erica Wigg. Years later, 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 doesn't want to get adopted.

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. Earwig prepares ingredients for spells, and cleans the workroom. Tired of working, she attempts to get out of the house, only to find that all the exits have been magically sealed by Mandrake. She becomes further frustrated because Bella Yaga never teaches her magic.

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 Bella Yaga's workroom at night to create a spell to make them resistant to magic, making them 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 and Earwig sends the worms piercing a hole in the wall, but that angers Mandrake. In the ensuing chaos, Earwig breaks into Mandrake's room and discovers he and Bela Yaga were members of the band Earwig.

Through her new power, Earwig is able to take over the house and have the others to do what she wants. She even manages to get her friend Custard to come over for Christmas. When he arrives, Earwig's mother, another member of the band Earwig, drops in for a surprise visit.

Directed by Gorō Miyazaki, the film was announced as the first full 3D CG animated film by Studio Ghibli and was scheduled for a television premiere on NHK in late 2020.[8][9][10] On June 19, 2020, images from the film were revealed by Miyazaki.[11] Goro 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". He also said that he is the only one at the studio who knows the method of creating CG animation.[1] Satoshi Takebe composed the music for the film. The theme song "Don't Disturb Me" and ending theme "Atashi no Sekai Seifuku" (あたしの世界征服) are performed by a team composed of 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.[12]

The film was scheduled to premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] It instead premiered at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon Metropolis, on October 18, 2020.[14]

In November 2020, the cast and crew information, along with its plot details and broadcast date were announced. It aired on NHK General TV on December 30, 2020.[11][15][16][3][2]

As with Ghibli's other features, Wild Bunch handles the international sales of the film.[17] On July 7, 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.[18][19] On January 7, 2021, GKIDS announced that the movie would receive a limited theatrical release beginning on February 3, while it would be added to HBO Max on February 5.[20] On January 25, 2021, GKIDS announced that the film will be released digitally on March 23, 2021, and on Blu-ray and DVD on April 6, 2021.[21]

On September 11, 2020, Wild Bunch confirmed they had purchased the distribution rights to Studio Ghibli's films in France from previous distributor Disney,[22] and that they would handle distribution of the film both theatrically and on home media in the country.[23]

On December 3, 2020, the Elysian Film Group acquired the British and Irish distribution rights to the movie, becoming its very first film acquisition after founding 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.[24]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 31% of 32 critic reviews are positive for Earwig and the Witch, and the average rating is 4.9/10. The critics consensus on the website is: "With a story as uninspired as its animation, Earwig and the Witch is a surprising — and near-total — misfire for Studio Ghibli."[25] According to Metacritic, which calculated a weighted average score of 45 out of 100 based on 12 reviews, the film received "mixed or average reviews".[26]

Earwig and the Witch earned $132,768 at the North American box office.[27]

• United States and Canada official web page at GKIDS
• Australia and New Zealand official web page at Madman Films
• Earwig and the Witch (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Earwig and the Witch at IMDb