Aya und die Hexe

Started out with a great premise, then lost sight of it in the tangles it wove. The CGI characters had the look of those on cheap TV kids' shows, but the backgrounds in which they moved were Ghibli quality (of the past) in detail. As one of the other reviews mentioned, this was 2/3rds of a movie. That might be fortunate - character development was getting really annoying, especially that of Earwig herself.

I didn't connect with the characters or the story. It is not entertaining to watch horrid treatment of children. I didn't like it at all.

Studio Ghibli's latest movie experimented with CGI anime instead of the traditional hand-drawn method. Directed by Goro Miyazaki, and Hayao also played a part in planning this movie.

The CGI was pretty good. However, I prefer the traditional hand-drawing more, as it felt more authentic and raw. This movie did not feel like a Studio Ghibli movie. Instead, it's like watching an average American animation movie.

Even more, the story was weird and a bit boring. This is the second Ghibli movie straight to TV, the first being Ocean Waves. The plot revolving around Earwig, who got adopted by a grumpy couple and was ordered to work tirelessly. Because at the orphanage home she was the boss and manipulated people around her to obey her, now she wanted to manipulate this new couple also. It's so weird that this was the message that the movie wanted to show audiences.

Although there were some funny moments, there wasn't much to the story. Most of the story was just Earwig being ordered around, and then the climax, if that's even called a climax, happened. The story then abruptly ended. There were plot points that were basically ignored.

Overall, problematic and short story that could be explored more. Maybe Ghibli should stick with the hand-drawn animation that made the studio famous. 4/10.

Devoid of all the simple aesthetics, elegant touch & magical qualities that fans have come to expect from a Studio Ghibli presentation, Earwig and the Witch marks their first foray into 3D computer-generated feature filmmaking but the story in itself is so dull, bland & uninspiring that the film as a whole turns out to be the studio's first real misfire and is a disappointment on all fronts.

Directed by Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea & From Up on Poppy Hill), the film simply fails to create any sort of intrigue or excitement from start to finish, and is so uneventful & unimaginative that despite it being about magic & witches, it never for once feels magical. The narrative has no sense of direction or purpose and there is barely any effort to make the characters compelling enough to garner our interest.

In addition to that, the studio's patented animation which over the years had played an essential role in infusing depth, richness & resonance to its hand-drawn imagery is unceremoniously replaced by computer-generated animation that not only seems rather ordinary & outdated but is also hollow, lifeless & soulless from within. There's a glossy, synthetic vibe to its images that just doesn't feel right plus the rendering is also lacking an organic flair.

Overall, Earwig and the Witch is absolutely unworthy of Studio Ghibli banner and is hands down the famed animation studio's worst entry to date. It is a departure from everything its production house stands for, and it doesn't even have the storytelling basics covered. One can't even argue that it aims for something ambitious but fails, for there is hardly any story at all. Putting a blemish on Studio Ghibli's unblemished legacy, Goro Miyazaki's latest is nothing less than an embarrassment.

Whyyyyyyy did Ghibli go 3D computer-animated?! This just felt uninspired. A really boring witch, especially for the main villain. There's no soul here. Rewatch Howl's Moving Castle instead.