This week came as a shock to fans as Studio Ghibli confirmed plans to release a movie this year that no one has heard of. The company announced the film Earwig and the Witch would debut this winter under director Goro Miyazaki with help from his father, the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. Now, it seems new details about the film are going live in light of The Festival de Cannes, and the info sheds light on the movie’s international plans.
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As reported by the Cannes Festival, Earwig and the Witch has been officially selected as one of the animated features joining the event. The Miyazaki-helmed movie will join three other animated films including Flee from Denmark, Josep from France, and Soul from the United States.
Earwig and the Witch is said to clock in at an 82-minute run time which is pretty normal for Studio Ghibli films. Wild Bunch, a French distribution company, will oversee any international sales of the 3DCG feature. Studio Ghibli has worked with the distributor for more than 20 years now. It helped Studio Ghibli navigate international sales for films like My Neighbor Totoro, The Red Turtle, and more. It even helped negotiate a deal with Netflix that brought Studio Ghibli films to the platform outside of the U.S.
With so many awaiting this new film, fans are hoping Earwig and the Witch makes its way to the States sooner rather than later. The Miyazaki-led film is based on another story written by Dianna Wynne Jones, the author who originally penned Howl’s Moving Castle. This new story is right up Studio Ghibli’s alley, you can read up on the story’s official synopsis below:
“Not every orphan would love living at St. Morwald’s Home for Children, but Earwig does. She gets whatever she wants, whenever she wants it, and it’s been that way since she was dropped on the orphanage doorstep as a baby. But all that changes the day Bella Yaga and the Mandrake come to St. Morwald’s, disguised as foster parents. Earwig is whisked off to their mysterious house full of invisible rooms, potions, and spell books, with magic around every corner. Most children would run in terror from a house like that . . . but not Earwig. Using her own cleverness—with a lot of help from a talking cat—she decides to show the witch who’s boss.”
Are you excited to check out this surprise feature from the Miyazaki duo? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
