Earwig and the Witch is not Studio Ghibli's worst film. It's undoubtedly not Gorō Miyazaki's worst film either. However, it is such a forgettable movie from a world-renowned animation studio, and that’s disappointing. My full review: https://explosionnetwork.com/movie-reviews/earwig-and-the-witch-review

I knew from the trailer this was gonna be somewhat very different from what Studio Ghibli fed us over the years. It was bad. and boring. The plot was flat, or actually it would be better to say that it was missing completely. Look, this story comes from a very beloved writer, one of my favourites: Diana Wynne Jones (you might know her from "Howl's moving castle", which Ghibli has also made into a very successful movie). "Earwig and the witch" is a very short book made for children: it is literally under 100 pages (it was the author's last book, and probably unfinished), so of course there isn't enough material to make a movie out of it! Then why, oh WHY, did Studio Ghibli decided to make this movie without even adding a real plot?? There is, in the specific, one big fault in the plot: there is no element of contrast for the heroine. Everything Earwig decides to do goes well! There is no villain, no obstacles to face, everyone loves her and she is always so freaking ungrateful about everything, despite nothing bad happening to her... So we have this spunky orphan nicknamed Earwig that doesn't want to be adopted, yet she ends up in the hands of the witch Bella Yaga, from which she later learns magic. Earwig doesn't like how Bella Yaga treats her, and so decides that she will become the boss of the house. And that's it. The movie tries to add some "spice" (and confusion) with a psychedelic band of witches from Bella Yaga's youth [spoiler](it is hinted that maybe the leader of the band was Earwig's mother as the band itself is called Earwig, and she unexplicably comes back in the last scene of the movie fom whatever journey she was on) [/spoiler] as a sort of messy subplot that seems to lead to something, but then this short-ass movie ends and you are left with all kinds of questions about this stupid band, and relations between characters. [spoiler]Like is the demon Earwig's father? Was he the lover of the singer of the band, aka Earwig's mother? You can probably think Bella Yaga adopts Earwig because she promised to take care of her to Earwig's mother until she'll come back (FROM WHAT? WHY DID SHE LEAVE? we don't know), but then WHY did she wait so long to adopt her? Like, why didn't they took Earwig in when she was a newborn? Who knows, because movie plot doesn't seem to know either! [/spoiler] It really was a flop. Diana Wynne Jones is such a great writer and has written so many novels in her life much better than this novella... Like maybe the Chrestomanci series could have made at least a much more interesting movie?! PS: CGI was bad, like it wasn't from a 2021 movie, but more like from a 2000 videogame. Like my Sims look more alive and defined than this characters.

Just go watch one of your other favorite Studio Ghibli films. This one will go from interesting to full-on piss you off in a second. You'll know when. And who needs that sort of irritation these days? [spoiler]There is no ending, like, none. I understand that some movies just end as a way of making the audience wonder about the future of the characters, but this just ends in the middle of the story. There's nothing to make us say, "wow, I wonder if they survive or what happens next." No, it just ends in the middle of the story without really going anywhere or giving us anything. Imagine if Kiki just ended when she got to the city, got her apartment, and started doing deliveries. Nothing else, she just did deliveries and it ended. I read somewhere else that the book this is based on is exactly the same. Why make this into a movie then? Or, better yet, why not take it to the next level and create an ending? [/spoiler]

This is definitely a movie that pisses off all the Studio Ghibli snob anime poseurs. Listening to their reactions is almost as charming as the movie itself.

The release of a Studio Ghibli film is always a celebration at home. We have followed their production closely for years and the visit to their museum in Japan was a real treat. For this house, Studio Ghibli is synonymous with good work, quality and care. That's why, although we weren't convinced by the digitalisation of their latest work, and the fact that the director was none other than Goro Miyazaki (author of the reviled Tales from Earthsea), we decided to give it a chance because it might surprise us. And surprise it did, because it was even worse than we imagined. There is nothing good or remarkable about Earwig and the Witch. The animation is typical of productions from ten years ago. The character design is horrendous. The story, what is it trying to teach, what is the moral, that it's OK for children to manipulate, lie and cheat, what values are those? Moreover, it's a story that ends in a rushed manner, as if there was no time - or desire - to tell all the gaps that remain after a mere 80 minutes. Soundtrack? Repeating the same song over and over again makes you end up hating it, and even more so when the dubbing prevents you from understanding the lyrics. A horrendous blot on a wonderful CV, adding yet another failure to Goro Miyazaki's list.