Netflix are expanding their Studio Ghibli collection with the animation studio's latest title.
'Earwig and the Witch', Studio Ghibli's 22nd feature film, will be available to stream on Netflix from November.
The announcement will be great news to fans of the Japanese anime production house, whose 21 other animations, including 'Spirited Away', 'Castle in the Sky' and 'My Neighbour Totoro', are all currently part of the Netflix collection worldwide (except for the US and Japan).
Fans of anime will notice that 'Earwig and the Witch' bears a strikingly different style to Studio Ghibli's other creations, as it is their first-ever 3D CGI design.
Directed by Goro Miyazaki ('From Up on Poppy Hill'), the story of Earwig is based on a novel of the same name by English writer Diana Wynne Jones. It follows a headstrong young girl, Earwig (Āya), who grew up in an orphanage and her life changes dramatically when a strange couple takes her in, and she is forced to live with a selfish witch.
The original Japanese version features the voices of Shinobu Terajima and Yuji Ueda; Richard E. Grant, Vanessa Marshall and Kacey Musgraves voice characters in the dubbed English version of the film.
Here's the trailer.
The film was released both as a television feature as well as in some cinemas across Japan in 2020. According to reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the film hasn't faired very well in the eyes of critics, currently sitting on a 33% approval rating and making it the worst-reviewed animation from the studio.
Studio Ghibli's next project, 'How Do You Live?', is already in development and is due to be released in 2023.
All of the Studio Ghibli titles are available to watch on Netflix here.
'Earwig and the Witch' arrives on Netflix on November 18.
