Earwig and the Witch
Earwig and the Witch is a 2020 Japanese computer-animated fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki and with a screenplay by Keiko Niwa and Emi Gunji. It is based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. The original voice cast includes Shinobu Terajima, Etsushi Toyokawa, Gaku Hamada, and Kokoro Hirasawa.
Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones.
Plot
In 1990s England, a witch leaves her little child, Earwig, at St. Morwald’s Home for Children. The matron head of the home thinks that the name is unfit for a child and changes it to Erica Wigg. Years later, Earwig is a rambunctious 10-year-old who is very comfortable in an orphanage where everyone does what she wants. She likes living there with her friend Custard and does not want to get adopted.
One day, a strange couple, Bella Yaga and Mandrake, adopt Earwig against her wishes. When they get home, Bella Yaga tells Earwig that she is a witch, and that she only adopted Earwig for “an extra pair of hands” to help around the house. Earwig agrees to help, only if Bella Yaga teaches her magic in return. Earwig prepares ingredients for spells and cleans the workroom. Tired of working, she attempts to get out of the house, only to find that all the exits have been magically sealed by Mandrake. She becomes further frustrated because Bella Yaga never teaches her any magic.
Earwig begins to listen to tapes from an old band called Earwig and discovers that Bella Yaga’s cat familiar Thomas can talk. The two of them enter the workroom at night to create a spell that will make them resistant to magic, becoming immune to Bella Yaga’s punishments. They also work on a spell to give Bella Yaga a literal “extra pair of hands” on her body so Earwig would be dismissed from her work.
The spell is a success and Bella Yaga is furious at her extra pair of hands, and casts magical worms that appear in Earwig’s room. Because of Earwig’s magical resistance, the worms are harmless; Earwig sends the worms through a hole in the wall, but that angers Mandrake. In the ensuing chaos, Earwig breaks into Mandrake’s room and discovers he and Bella Yaga were members of the band.
Through her new power, Earwig is able to take over the house and have the others do what she wants. She even manages to invite her friend Custard over for Christmas. When he arrives, Earwig’s mother, another member of the band, drops in for a surprise visit.
Earwig and the Witch is an interesting cartoon that is definitely worth watching.
Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones.
