Studio Ghibli’s Lowest-Rated Film Ever Was Directed by Miyazaki’s Son & It’s a Failed CGI Experiment
Hayao Miyazaki’s animated movies have become untouchable classics, though his son might have taken Studio Ghibli in the wrong direction with the worst-rated anime in the company’s history — here’s everything about the matter.
There were a couple of crisis moments in Studio Ghibli’s continuous work with the death of Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki’s numerous retirement announcements (which, luckily, ended up being just a phase).
At some point, however, Studio Ghibli staff was joined by Miyazaki’s son Goro who went on to fill in his father’s shoes with his own movies. One of those turned out to be the biggest disaster for the entire company.
‘Earwig and the Witch’ Was Studio Ghibli’s First Major Misfire in Decades-Long History
- On Rotten Tomatoes, Earwig and the Witch holds scores of 28% and 68% from critics and audiences
- On IMDb, the movie is rated 4.7/10
Even though Goro Miyazaki had all hope and support from his father’s devoted fans, especially after the release of 2011’s extremely successful animated drama movie From Up on Poppy Hill, his next move was soon labeled Studio Ghibli’s biggest failure.
Released back in 2020, Earwig and the Witch is based on Diana Wynne Jones’ novel of the same name and follows Earwig, an orphaned girl who finds out about her mother’s magical powers.
When Earwig is taken from the orphanage by a strange couple and figures that she’ll now have to live with a selfish witch, she embarks on a mission to uncover all those dark secrets that her new family tries to keep under wraps, also learning about a mysterious song that can help her find the family that she has always wanted to have.
To date, Earwig and the Witch’s scores can only compare to Goro Miyazaki’s previous work Tales from Earthsea which currently has 37% on positive reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Apart from that, Studio Ghibli’s lowest-rated movie is Isao Takahata’s My Neighbours the Yamadas with 78% and 75% from critics and viewers.
What Did Critics and Viewers Say About ‘Earwig and the Witch’?
Even though the movie got a pretty solid score from audiences, Earwig and the Witch was a charm for very few critics.
“As a Studio Ghibli project, the film feels near-disastrous, standing as not only Goro Miyazaki's personal worst directorial effort but also the studio's worst outing overall”, Clapper’s Carson Timar wrote back then.
“It sacrifices Studio Ghibli's hand-drawn style but it's the absence of the studio's usual emotional beats that's the bigger problem”, Time Out’s Nick Dent shared.
“I really didn't expect ghibli To make a CG animation film and it is BAD. The characters are empty, the story is empty, and if you love ghibli's amazing animation you will be disappointed”, a user revealed on Rotten Tomatoes’ website.
“A masterclass in garbage western animation, Goro deserves to be hated by his father but I can't help but love the film regardless, earwig looks like markl from howls, the warlock rules, and the fish and chips/food models look better in this movie than IRL food, all the budget went to food models and it deserves a 5 star rating for the fish and chips alone, no japanese dub in the west, jank animation/character models, a real pleasurable viewing experience. Change the narrative surrounding this film, it's a 10 and always will be sorry otaku haters”, user The H retorted.
Where to Watch ‘Earwig and the Witch’?
The movie is available for streaming on Prime Video.
