Earwig and The Witch. (PG.)
Directed by Gorô Miyazaki.
Featuring Taylor Paige Henderson, Vanessa Marshall, Richard E. Grant, Kacey Musgraves and Dan Stevens. 83 mins.
Don't push too hard your dreams, like Japanese hand-drawn animation in your hand. For about two decades Studio Ghibli was one of cinema's great treasures; the Pixar of the east. But it was a delicate, will o the wisp wonder and when Studio chief Hayao Miyazaki let his son start directing, his efforts seemed to dissipate all the magic. Now, with Ghibli very much on its uppers, Miyazaki junior has overseen its first attempt at computer animation: a Diane Wynne Jones adaptation about a defiant, resourceful and perhaps slightly-too-full-of-herself young orphan adopted by two witches.
It's not as horrible as some early reviews had it but it's wildly mixed. The Mandrake figure voiced RE.G is beautifully visualised and some of the backgrounds have that lovely watercolour Ghibli feel. Elsewhere though the standard of the animation isn't much higher than that found in morning kid's show. The real issue though is a story where, though full of quirky little details, absolutely nothing happens. And the abrupt ending is a real slap in the face.
Directed by Gorô Miyazaki.
Featuring Taylor Paige Henderson, Vanessa Marshall, Richard E. Grant, Kacey Musgraves and Dan Stevens. 83 mins.
Don't push too hard your dreams, like Japanese hand-drawn animation in your hand. For about two decades Studio Ghibli was one of cinema's great treasures; the Pixar of the east. But it was a delicate, will o the wisp wonder and when Studio chief Hayao Miyazaki let his son start directing, his efforts seemed to dissipate all the magic. Now, with Ghibli very much on its uppers, Miyazaki junior has overseen its first attempt at computer animation: a Diane Wynne Jones adaptation about a defiant, resourceful and perhaps slightly-too-full-of-herself young orphan adopted by two witches.
It's not as horrible as some early reviews had it but it's wildly mixed. The Mandrake figure voiced RE.G is beautifully visualised and some of the backgrounds have that lovely watercolour Ghibli feel. Elsewhere though the standard of the animation isn't much higher than that found in morning kid's show. The real issue though is a story where, though full of quirky little details, absolutely nothing happens. And the abrupt ending is a real slap in the face.
