Eschewing the hand-drawn techniques typical of other Studio Ghibli films, “Earwig and the Witch” relies entirely on computer-generated imagery.

“Coraline,” much? As the days pass by, Earwig is trapped within this toxic household, unless she can find a way out.īefore all else, dear readers, we must address the film’s controversial animation style. She soon befriends a talking cat named Thomas (Dan Stevens). Earwig becomes Yaga’s servant - mopping floors and preparing ingredients for her potions. Her fortunes change when she’s adopted by an imposing, scraggly haired witch named Bella Yaga (Vanessa Marshall) and her spindly, short-tempered husband named Mandrake (Richard E. Earwig, quite a bubbly individual, is content living there with her pal, Custard (Logan Hannon), and has zero interest in moving away. As a baby, she was abandoned by her mother (Kacey Musgraves), a witch fleeing powerful forces seeking her demise. The story, based on Diana Wynne Jones’ book, follows Earwig (Taylor Paige Henderson), a young girl living in an orphanage in the British countryside. He is the first to come around to treating Earwig with kindness, as he has good intentions deep down.Studio Ghibli’s latest project, “Earwig and the Witch,” is a bland film lacking depth and imagination. Since he is so easy to anger, he often isolates himself and resents being disturbed. Mandrake is very easily upset and wields the greatest amount of power in the house. The sparks in his eyes are more powerful than ever, and the smoke comes from all over his body rather than just his back. His pants tear, and the rest of his outfit becomes colored orange and black. When he is angered, he grows in size, grows dark scales, and grows claws on his hands and feet.

When upset, his eyes spark with anger, veins grown on his forehead, and a dark smoke comes from his back. He wears a purple robe and pants with a faint floral pattern on them, with a white button up underneath. His hair is short and brown, though during his time as a rock star, it was long and dark purple. Earwig initially mistakes them for horns. His ears are his most identifiable feature, as they are long and pointed. The Mandrake is extremely tall (usually phasing through doorways and walls, but often crouching his head to enter when he doesn't) and lanky with thick circular glasses. He lives with Bella Yaga, but they do not seem to be more than just friends. After their disbanding, he becomes an author- however, his books are usually met with poor reviews. The Mandrake was the pianist of the band Earwig before it disbanded.

Earwig and the witch book