Ghibli’s Latest Piece Doesn’t Deserve the Hate it’s Getting
Ghibli’s foray into the world of CG was met with stunning disapproval this past week. A quick look on your favorite review site likely reads along the lines of “lacking emotion” or “80 minutes built up to nothing”. While not as adventurous as “Castle in the Sky” nor emotional as “Only Yesterday,” “Earwig and the Witch” paints a opportunistic reprieve for an orphaned child that earns its keep among the ranks of cherished Ghibli works.
Gorō Miyazaki was tasked with no easy challenge — converting Ghibli’s cherished tradition of superb storytelling and revered traditional animation into a modern visual style. Take Pixar’s Toy Story — a marvel at the time for its innovation in computer-aided graphics, for example. One can pull any scene from that film which would have taken months for a professional effects artist to complete at the time, and an amateur could render the same result in hours. Compared within Pixar’s own works, the store cat seen in Toy Story 4 is like another dimension compared to the flat lighting on any of the toys from the series inception. Earwig undeniably has shots that look like early prototypes for a future look — the spaghetti hair of the Witch bouncing around as she walks around her potion room comes to mind.
In terms of narrative and style, Earwig sets itself apart from others in the Ghibli pantheon for its notably faster tempo and rock soundtrack. Compared to the mellow or slow development of its titular character, Earwig bounces around birttely with a hot temper and bratty atmosphere. She’s determined to twist her adopted home to her bidding and get what she wants out of the Witch — the ability to perform spells. One point I will dock the writers on is how the crux of this film isn’t precipitated until it’s final moments. The hidden relationship between the Witch and Mandrake, and their past with Earwig’s mother, fills a number of unanswered questions.
There’s plenty of hallmarks to the Ghibli tradition in Earwig as well. The house cat, Thomas, provides color commentary and some helpful hints to Earwig throughout the film, a talkative guide if you will. Much akin to the cat in Kiki’s Delivery Service, and even like the occasional utility, largely observant behavior of Luci of Disenchantment. Earwig is delighted to have a companion upon learning of Thomas’s enchanted nature.
In terms of personal growth, Earwig seems to be lacking that. Compared to previous Ghibli films where the character feels fundamentally changed after the events of their journey, Earwig begins a manipulative brat and ends just the same. Perhaps her curiosity or understanding of the Witch and Mandrake’s past has evolved and made her not view the Witch so bitterly, but her character hasn’t changed. She got exactly what she wanted from the beginning: the ability to learn magic spells. A few small hurdles brushed aside easily, and now she has it.
Overall Earwig and the Witch was a fun ride to join in on. The animation was a unique technical direction that is the beginning of many years of progression for Ghibli. The lack of character development for Earwig may be a dud, but the journey she went on and messes she got herself out of were enjoyable and ripe for family viewing. 6.5/10
