Something people probably thought was going to happen has been confirmed. Studio Ghibli’s Earwig and the Witch movie is going to be released outside of Japan. GKIDS announced on Twitter that it has picked up the rights to the studio’s first 3DCG movie. It also noted that it will show up in North America in 2021.
GKIDS is proud to announce the North American rights to EARWIG AND THE WITCH, the next film from Goro Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli (#FromUpOnPoppyHill).
Coming 2021
Follow @GKIDSFilms for more #Earwig updates!
https://t.co/mv7Ksk1d1q pic.twitter.com/9LsEuSlBPw
— GKIDS Films (@GKIDSfilms) July 7, 2020
This fits in well with the timeline already established for Earwig and the Witch’s Japanese release. The Studio Ghibli movie, which is known as Aya and the Witch in that region, was supposed to debut at Cannes 2020. As a result of the pandemic, people will see it for the first time on NHK sometime in Winter 2020. (An exact release date has yet to be set.)
The Earwig and the Witch movie will follow the story of the 2011 book of the same name. Earwig is an orphan who doesn’t know she has a magical background. She’s taken by some witches from the orphanage where she’s spent most of her life and now must find a way to deal with her new surroundings. It was one of the last books written by Diana Wynne Jones and the second story from the author to be turned into a Studio Ghibli film. (The first was Howl’s Moving Castle.)
Earwig and the Witch will debut in Japan in Winter 2020 and will be released in North America in 2021.
