It may be a struggle for some to identify Earwig And The Witch as a Studio Ghibli movie, having moved away from its traditionally gorgeous hand-drawn animation style in favour of creating its first full 3D CG animation. However, scratching beneath the surface of Earwig still beats the heart of Ghibli, a unique studio that tells offbeat stories with a bizarre sweetness.
The story follows Erica ‘Earwig’ Wigg (Taylor Henderson) who, having been abandoned as a baby, has grown up in an orphanage. Unlike your typical orphan story, Erica actually loves living in the institution and does all she can to avoid being adopted. It’s pretty clear (by Erica’s own boastful declarations) that she rules the roost at the orphanage, as her talent for manipulating others enables her to live a comfortable and contented life.
Unfortunately for Erica, her wily ways are not infallible, and she finds herself being taken away from her beloved orphanage to live with a magical mysterious couple; the Mandrake (Richard E. Grant) and witch, Bella Yaga (Vanessa Marshall).
Things go from bad to worse when Erica arrives at her new home to find it dark, oppressive and unwelcoming. Not only that but her new guardians seem disinterested in their new ward, and it becomes apparent that Erica has been taken on to act as a servant to assist Bella in her spells. Unused to being told what to do and not getting her own way, Erica is not perturbed and works her own magic on Bella and the Mandrake to bend them to her will.
Earwig’s director Gorō Miyazaki may seem like a safe choice for Ghibli’s latest venture. Not only is he the son of Ghibli co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki, he is also an established director in his own right, heading a number of full length features for Ghibli, as well as successfully delivering a computer animated series in Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter.
However, much like his own protagonist, he clearly doesn’t want to do what people expect him to do, and it’s not just the animation style that goes against the Ghibli grain with Earwig. The characters also feel like a departure from the studio’s regular formula. While Erica broadcasts the same energetic and childlike naivety that we’ve seen in films like Spirited Away, she comes packaged as a prideful bossy boots whose only objective seems to be to make other people do what she wants them to do. This manipulative persona feels like it wants to be spun as a precocious and endearing trait but, perhaps due in part to the slightly sterile aesthetic that 3D CG brings, the character comes across as somewhat brattish and distasteful.
Earwig And The Witch isn’t Annie. This is not the story of an orphan girl warming the heart of a curmudgeonly benefactor… except that it feels like it wants to be. Instead, Earwig’s journey feels one-dimensional and the film struggles to create cohesive moral foundations for its characters. Their motivations seem oblique and their emotional journeys never resolve.
This isn’t the only element of the movie that feels slightly at odds with itself. The film’s tone flips between charmingly idiosyncratic to confusingly bizarre, while the story sets up a convoluted background but isn’t properly tied up. In fact, the finale feels like the ending of an opening episode of a series rather than a conclusion of a film.
Earwig And The Witch has an unconventionally punk spirit. It’s bold and individual, and it will certainly resonate passionately with some audiences. The film’s theme song (written by Gorō Miyazaki) also fits its partial namesake and is certainly an earworm. But that’s the only element that will stay with you after the credits roll. Earwig’s peppered oddly sweet moments just can’t make up for its incomprehensive storyline, unlikable characters and odd tone.
Earwig and the Witch is coming to cinemas on 28th May, check out the trailer here. Get tickets and find out more here.
