Earwig and the Witch

1="CGI are not the main problem with this movie. I need you all to know that. I need you to start spreading that as gospel to anyone you know. It's not CGI that ruin this movie... it is terribly rushed!"

- Said some users
 * -|2="That's quite out of character when it comes to Studio Ghibli. I mean, when you hear the name of that studio, you think quality, you think oscar winner, and not really get the same vibe for Earwig and the Witch."

- SaberSpark
 * -|3="Earwig and the Witch is worse than Cars 2. Every wrong decisions that could possibly have been made during the production of this movie was made."

- Schaffrillas Productions

Earwig and the Witch (Japanese: アーヤと魔女, "Āya and the Witch") is a 2020 Japanese CGI fantasy film, produced by mh:greatestmovies:Studio Ghibli and directed by Gorō Miyazaki, son of noted Japanese animator and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, which makes it the second Studio Ghibli movie adpated from her book after Howl's Moving Castle.

Plot
An orphaned girl, Earwig, who is adopted by a witch and comes home to a spooky house filled with mystery and magic.

Why It's "Not a Movie Yet"

 * 1) For a movie released in late 2020, the CGI animation itself looks lackluster and feels like a very badly aged movie from the early-2000's. Not to mention that all the characters look like they are made of plastic in a way that feels creepy and it's as if the producers wanted to capture the art style of Tim Burton and Laika 's stop-motion films, but without the glamor or dark comedy of those films.
 * 2) *It may be understandable that the CGI animation is mediocre since this was Studio Ghibli 's first fully CGI animated film, but all of this makes it look more like an experimental. If the movie was postponed for the following year, it would have made the CGI more decent to watch, kind of like what happened with the Sonic movie..
 * 3) * Even the CGI animation graphics looked rather mediocre, cheap-looking, and it can sometimes look uncanny for a full-feature-length film, akin to an early mh:awesomegames:PlayStation Portable, mh:awesomegames:Nintendo DS, mh:awesomegames:Xbox 360, mh:awesomegames:PlayStation 3 or a mh:awesomegames:Wii video game. They clearly hadn't aged well since there are some models that look a bit grotesque, rubbery and stiff, particularly the non-regular cast.
 * 4) * It's unbelievable that a 2021 CGI-animated movie like this has mediocre animation, considering that Mh:greatestmovies:Wish Dragon, Mh:greatestmovies:The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, Mh:greatestmovies:Raya and the Last Dragon, Mh:greatestmovies:The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Spirit Untamed, Luca, The Boss Baby: Family Business, Mh:greatestmovies:Vivo, Mh:greatestmovies:Paw Patrol: The Movie, Mh:greatestmovies:My Little Pony: A New Generation, Mh:greatestmovies:Encanto, Mh:greatestmovies:Back to the Outback, Rumble and Mh:greatestmovies:Sing 2 which all came out the same year as this film and has animation thirty times better than this.
 * 5) **The worst thing about animation is that the CGI used in previous Studio Ghibli films (such as the library overview in Pom Poko, a 1994 film, or Howl's Moving Castle from the 2004 film of the same name) and other non-Studio Ghibli films like Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue! and Space Jam looked much better than this and had been released many decades before this movie.
 * 6) *Because of the lackluster animation, the facial expressions on every characters can range from plain ridiculous to even nightmare enducing.
 * 7) The story is incoherent, bland, and also very confusing, thanks to the movie being rushed.
 * 8) * This trait especially applies to the film towards the end where Earwig causes Bella Yaga to generate another pear of hands, resulting in both the latter and Mandrake becoming absolutely furious with her. And all this happens when there's only 20 minutes left of the movie's runtime. And afterwards, she ends up going into the Mandrake's headquarters without his permission where she discovers that he and Bella Yaga were in a band with her mom, causing both of them to immediately accept her afterwards when she decides to use her newfound power to make them do what she wants them to do. And the movie tries to treat this as a "happy ending", but it's completely and utterly undermined by the fact that Earwig's actions of controlling the household into making them bend to her will is very comparable to many actions of villains throughout multiple sources of media. And only continues to succeed in painting Earwig as a spoiled, manipulative girl that the movie expects us to root for in spite of the fact that there's absolutely no proper characterization given for us to do this. In a similar manner to Stanley from A Troll in Central Park and his actions of covering up New York City with plants at the end supposed to be the film's "happy ending" when it isn't in any way, shape or form. Not to mention that even if you take that aspect out, that still feels like a really slapped-in-at-the-last-minute solution to all of the movie's problems and conflicts. Even though they still don't succeed in solving all of them, so it couldn't even do that right (aka, the entire reason it was added into the movie in the first place).
 * 9) * The story itself also, as Schaffrillas Productions pointed out, constantly rehashes plots and story beats from previous Studio Ghibli features (As much as the fact it’s still faithful to the book).
 * 10) ** The talking cat and addition of witches were both major plot points in mh:greatestmovies:Kiki's Delivery Service.
 * 11) ** The movie's main plot overall is of a young girl (Earwig) being enslaved and forced to work for a grumpy and selfish old lady (Bella Yaga). Sound familar?
 * 12) ** There's a scene where Earwig has breakfast with her new family for the sake of "family bonding" with magical entities helping her make it, just like in mh:greatestmovies:Howl's Moving Castle (which on a coincidence was written by the same author).
 * 13) ** Mandrake is a writer, and the inspiration for that part of his character is the entire theme of mh:greatestmovies:Whisper of the Heart.
 * 14) * When the movie feels like it's starting to pick up its own pace, it just abruptly ends on a blatant cliffhanger (with Earwig's mother randomly showing up on her doorstep absolutely out of nowhere with no explanation whatsoever as to how or why she got there). This is actually the same with the book that the movie is based on, as well.
 * 15) The movie's locations are rather bland, with most of the story taking place in the same boring locations.
 * 16) Everyone, and especially Earwig look awful & nightmarish, and it would have been better designed if the movie was in the usual traditional 2D style.
 * 17) A number of things that could be plot points are brought up, but then dropped with little to no elaboration.
 * 18) The characters are flat and underdeveloped.
 * 19) * Earwig, in particular, is a very unlikable protagonist, she's very bratty and manipulative and that's all she is. And unlike protagonists from other Studio Ghibli films such as Chihiro Ogino from mh:greatestmovies:Spirited Away who started off as a sheltered child with no experience in work but becomes a hardworking heroine after getting a job at the bathhouse, Earwig undergoes absolutely no character development at any point during the movie. She's simply a whiny and spoiled brat who manipulates others into giving her what she wants and she just stays that way throughout the entire film. And the film ends with her taking over the house and having everyone doing whatever she wants. How are we meant to root for this character again? Similar to Max Mercer from Home Sweet Home Alone, it doesn't matter if she is still a little girl since she acts just like any generic brats in fiction (and in real life).
 * 20) * Bella Yaga is very mean-spirited towards Earwig throughout the entirety of the film, constantly forcing her to do multiple tasks around the house and making her into her personal servant. And it's never explained why. And given how Earwing, as previously mentioned, is no Saint herself, it makes it confusing as to who the audience is meant to be rooting for. Earwig is manipualtive and bratty while Bella is bossy and demanding, so who's supposed to be portrayed in the sympathetic light? The only time she ever shows the slightest ounce of kindness towards Earwig in at the end, for little to no reason. As there wasn't any point in the movie where she was even being hinted at having a change of heart. And this only adds to how rushed and forced the ending was.
 * 21) Most of the time, the humor is hit or miss, this is what makes this movie serves to be bored to life.
 * 22) The lip-syncing for the English dub is just lazy & awful, which is also because due to the rushed release causes.
 * 23) Sometimes the voice acting sounds a bit off, thanks to Gorō who picked actors/actresses who had little to no association with the animation industry.
 * 24) Much like Tales From Earthsea, Gorō Miyazaki ruined his father's legacy once again. As this movie heavily damaged the reputation of him and Studio Ghibli as a whole due to it's poor reception. Make no mistake, Gorō is a great director and contributor to Studio Ghibli's movies, and the fact that he now has this mistake of his resume makes you feel incredibly sorry for him due to how he clearly doesn't have the skills to direct a full movie, let alone one for such an enormous studio known for it's consistently overwhelmingly amazing films.
 * 25) Misleading poster: As you can see on the poster, it's supposed to be a musical band adventure movie, but in the movie itself, it isn't.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) It's great to see Studio Ghibli back in action from 2014 with new movies.
 * 2) The ideas within the story are pretty interesting, if only they were better used.
 * 3) * Similarly, it was nice that Studio Ghibli tried something new with their movies by using CGI animation for the first time, in spite of, once again, its poor execution.
 * 4) A great soundtrack from Satoshi Takebe. The main theme "Don't Disturb Me" is very catchy, as is "The World Is In My Hands".
 * 5) Most of the voice acting is alright, even if some of it can sound off at times.
 * 6) The intro sequence is done very well.
 * 7) Sometimes the film can have some visual creativity and fun expressions.
 * 8) Speaking of WINaMY#1: If this movie was drawn in 2D, it would be decent to look at it. (Although it would be ended up remaining with the same qualities as Tales From Earthsea was)
 * 9) The CGI animation may be mediocre and sometimes uncanny, but it has good qualities where anything is possible.
 * 10) * Some characters have passable character designs, like the the black cat at the start of the film for example.
 * 11) * In fact, what's more, is that the CGI animation was also done entirely using Autodesk Maya 3D software.

Reception
Earwing and the Witch received negative reviews from both critics and fans of Studio Ghibli, with a 30% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus "With a story as uninspired as its animation, Earwig and the Witch is a surprising -- and near-total -- misfire for Studio Ghibli."

Trivia

 * The movie is Studio Ghibli's first fully-CGI film.
 * The reason for the poor quality was mainly due to the fact that Goro Miyazaki was the only person in the Studio Ghibli office to know about CGI, and that he "didn't consult with the old guys at all" during development with a younger staff, plus, he is not an experienced director, as shown with Tales From Earthsea two decades earlier.

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