Playing at Select Theatres Feb 3rd
Also coming to HBO Max Feb 5th
If Earwig and the Witch is to be rockin’ the free world–as the poster hints–then let’s hope that more theatres can reopen come February 2021! It’ll be better to see this on the big screen than small, even though it will be offered simultaneously on a streaming service.
Hot off the heels of its Late December 2020 debut in Japan, this latest film from Studio Ghibli will get the duo treatment–to play theatrically and online at the same time. Based on the children’s novel by Diana Wynne Jones (Howl’s Moving Castle), the film marks Studio Ghibli’s first 3DCG animated feature.
Plot Synopsis: Growing up in an orphanage in the British countryside, Earwig has no idea that her mother had magical powers. Her life changes dramatically when a strange couple takes her in, and she is forced to live with a selfish witch. As the headstrong young girl sets out to uncover the secrets of her new guardians, she discovers a world of spells and potions, and a mysterious song that may be the key to finding the family she has always wanted.
This latest film is directed by Goro Miyazaki (From Up on Poppy Hill, Tales from Earthsea) and produced by studio co-founder Toshio Suzuki. While the son is helming this current entry for the Oscars, Hayao Miyazaki was also involved with some planning, all while still working on his next opus, How Do You Live? Hopefully, the wait for the next project won’t take too long to arrive and fans can only hope.
The original voice cast features the talents of Shinobu Terajima, Etsushi Toyokawa, Gaku Hamada, and Kokoro Hirasawa. The English dub has Richard E. Grant, Kacey Musgraves and Dan Stevens playing the seminal roles of Mandrake, Earwig’s Mother and Thomas. It’s assumed both presentations will offer the original language and dub during its presentation.
Earwig and the Witch also includes an English language theme song by six-time Grammy Award-winner Kacey Musgraves.
