Goro and Hayao Miyazaki, the famous father son duo is now due to release a passion project this Winter. The story was written by “Castle in the Sky” writer Diana Wine Jones. They have based it off of her novel Earwig and the Witch and are calling it “Aya and the Witch.”
The film will be the first movie animated by Studio Ghibli in 3D3G. Goro Miyazaki is credited with directing while Hayao is credited with planning the initial project. The film will air on NHK Television in December instead of a theatrical release. The project is a collaboration between Studio Ghibli, NHK and NEP( NHK Enterprises) which could explain why it will be going straight to television.
In the book Earwig and the Witch, Earwig is an orphan living in an orphanage. She is the master of her domain and quite enjoys being there. Until one day when she is adopted by a witch and taken to live with her. Instead of being scared she finds ways to turn the situation around and makes light of what could be interpreted as a terrible situation.
Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki said he was worried as to whether “Aya to Majo” could hold up in the new post-corona environment. “I thought that a number of times while watching the rushes,” he said. “Then I realized that one stand-out feature of the film is Aya’s cleverness. And if you are clever you can survive in any period of history. Thinking that, I felt relieved.”
If you’ve been wanting to watch other Ghibli films there’s never been a better time to. Now that HBO Max has 21 titles available to choose from you can have yourself a regular Ghibli Fest. Unfortunately we don’t have any word on when an English Dub will come of this new film or when we will even see it in the states. But if it does well in Japan you can bet that there will be some inner workings trying to get it brought over to the states as well.
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