A special mash-up video has been released that mixes images of heroines that have graced Ghibli films in the past, such as Kiki from “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and Sheeta from “Castle in the Sky,” with images of Earwig, the heroine of “Earwig and the Witch,” which will be released in theaters on April 29, 2021.
The video begins with Kiki, the heroine of “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” flying over the city on a broomstick, and goes on to show the heroines from nine classic movies, including “Castle in the Sky,” “Princess Mononoke,” “My Neighbor Totoro,” “From Up on Poppy Hill,” “Spirited Away,” “Ponyo,” “Howl’s Moving Castle,” and “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.” The heroines’ adventures, growth, and each emotional scene from the past nine masterpieces were spliced together.
However, halfway through the video, the atmosphere changes. With a roar of thunder, Ghibli’s new heroine Earwig appeared on the screen, wide-eyed, pinching her nose, laughing with her big mouth open, and full of expression and tomboyishness! She is a clever and manipulative girl who wisely manipulates the people around her, which is different from the image of heroines we have seen in the past.
But in fact, she is the new heroine who was meant to appear in this day and age, who never loses her temper no matter how bad things get or how angry she gets. Earwig has the strength and wisdom necessary to survive, and the power to make others happy, and she has a strength and charm different from the heroines of the past.
In addition, Miyazaki Goro, the director of “Earwig and the Witch,” broadcast his debut feature animation work “Tales From Earthsea” on April 9, 2021 on Nippon Television Friday Roadshow. In the program, there will be a special mash-up version of the film that shows the similarities between Ghibli’s masterpiece and Earwig.
The “A New Heroine is Born! Full of Ghibli Special Movies” is now available on YouTube “Toho MOVIE Channel”. “Earwig and the Witch”, in which the new heroine Earwig plays actively, will be released nationwide on April 29, 2021.
“Earwig and the Witch” Film Summary
Opens in theaters nationwide on April 29 (Thursday, national holiday)
Terajima Shinobu, Toyokawa Etsushi, Hamada Gaku, Hirasawa Kokoro, Sherina Munaf
(C) 2020 NHK, NEP, Studio Ghibli