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MikeHattsu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,976
It's been known since late 2017 that they were working on a CG movie, but no details about what it was about until today:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ne...-howl-moving-castle-diana-wynne-jones/.160215

Studio Ghibli announced on Wednesday that it is producing an anime movie adaptation of author Diana Wynne Jones' Earwig and the Witch (Aya to Majo) novel for a television premiere on the NHK General channel this winter. Hayao Miyazaki's son Goro Miyazaki is directing the movie as the studio's first full 3D CG feature, and the elder Miyazaki is credited for the movie's planning and development. Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki is producing.

Jones' Howl's Moving Castle also inspired a 2004 anime film by Hayao Miyazaki, and the film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.


Jones published the novel in 2011, and Publisher Harper Collins describes the story:

Not every orphan would love living at St. Morwald's Home for Children, but Earwig does. She gets whatever she wants, whenever she wants it, and it's been that way since she was dropped on the orphanage doorstep as a baby. But all that changes the day Bella Yaga and the Mandrake come to St. Morwald's, disguised as foster parents. Earwig is whisked off to their mysterious house full of invisible rooms, potions, and spell books, with magic around every corner. Most children would run in terror from a house like that . . . but not Earwig. Using her own cleverness—with a lot of help from a talking cat—she decides to show the witch who's boss.
 

Xagarath

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,147
North-East England
One of the few Wynne Jones books I haven't read. Potentially very interesting - Howl's was a great film even if it made significant departures from the book.
 

TronLight

Member
Jun 17, 2018
2,466
New Ghibli film - 3D CG feature

fetchimage
 
Oct 25, 2017
3,065
Nice.

I found Earthsea fine but a bit dull. But Poppy Hill was a delightful film.

Interested to see what a CG Ghibli looks like.
 

GCX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
484
Goro already has experience with CG animation because of Ronja. It's been five years since that so interesting to see how much better this will look.
 

apocat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,097
I have nothing against Goro. The 3D CG part though...

I haven't seen Ronja, but Earthsea was awful, and Poppy Hill was mediocre at best. Combine that with 3D-animation and you have lost me completely. At least his other movies had the beautiful hand drawn Ghibli animation to admire.
 

Lunaray

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,731
Don't really trust Goro, sorry. He butchered Earthsea (poor Ursula Le Guin) and Poppy Hill was saccharine.
 

Protome

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,782
One of the few Wynne Jones books I haven't read. Potentially very interesting - Howl's was a great film even if it made significant departures from the book.
Yeah I've not read this one either.

Howl is great and its departure from the book made the book even better for me when I read it because I was caught off guard when
his secret door just leads to modern day (at the time) Wales. I was just sitting there like "WHAT IS THIS BOOK."
 

Modest_Modsoul

Living the Dreams
Member
Oct 29, 2017
23,947
CG huh...

Gotta see it first how it looked like.

I have no qualms with 3D CG, but I hope it's good.
 

KillstealWolf

One Winged Slayer
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
16,245
I don't see what the issue with it being CG is, we've had some really good and unique looking CGI films in recent years, we're not stuck in like, early-mid 2010s where almost all CGI Films looked the exact same.

Now, Goro being in charge, that is a bigger warning flag. But not a 100% reason to write it off.
 

Strings

Member
Oct 27, 2017
31,583
It's crazy that Goro himself is 53 already.

Ronya was alright, while Poppy Hill is great and Earthsea sucks so... Yeah, no clue what to expect.
 

Deleted member 5028

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,724
Wasn't Wynne Jones upset with the changes that were made to Howl? I get she's long gone now, but wouldn't her estate object to any more Ghibli deals?
 
Oct 25, 2017
3,065
Wasn't Wynne Jones upset with the changes that were made to Howl? I get she's long gone now, but wouldn't her estate object to any more Ghibli deals?

Le Guin and Eiko Kadono were upset with Earthsea and Kiki respectively, but Wynne Jones seemed reasonably happy with Howl - albeit recognising it as a not-quite-faithful adaptation.

Were you surprised by Hayao Miyazaki's vision of the castle and characters of Howl's Moving Castle?

I was surprised by Miyazaki's Moving Castle, because I had not thought of the castle having feet. In the book I wrote, the castle is more like a hovercraft and floats an inch or so above the ground. But I am very fond of Miyazaki's castle. I have several models of it around the house. As for Howl and Sophie, both of them are gentler and more noble than the characters in my books. But I wasn't surprised by this. Movies are always different. I have several models of Howl and Sophie around the house too, and quite a few Calcifers, one of which sits in the fireplace.
 

jett

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,687
I didn't realize Ghibli had several projects in development.

Honestly I'm very confused as to what happened when they supposedly closed their offices years ago.
From Up on Poppy Hill is a good movie AND a considerable, massive upgrade from Earthsea.
 

djinn

Member
Nov 16, 2017
15,840
Does she have to be named Earwig? Earwigs are ones of the few bugs I hate, they're disgusting.
 

GCX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
484
Honestly I'm very confused as to what happened when they supposedly closed their offices years ago.
Ghibli closed down for real and let go of almost all of their staff. Then Hayao Miyazaki came out of retirement to make a short CG movie and assembled a very small team for that. During the production he came up with a plan for a big new movie and has since then worked on that with a proper team. And apparently on the side they've also worked on Goro's new movie (probably because Hayao's movie is a money sink that's taking ages to release).
 
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so1337

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,488
Sounds fun. I'm in.

Earthsea was a long time ago so I'm sure this'll be better.
 

GCX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
484
I thought Hayao hated CG?
His movies have used CG since Mononoke (except Ponyo) and his last completed work was a short movie done with full CG animation.

I'd say he hates bad animation, not CG. He has said that he likes to work with traditional 2D animation because that's what he knows best. It's understandable that at 79 years old he doesn't want to learn to do everything all over again, though evidently he somewhat tried to do that with the caterpillar short movie.
 

Bradbury

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,857
I prefer 2d animation but Im curious to see what Ghibli could do with 3D, the Dragon Quest and Lupin 3D movies has such an unique style, that has the energy and fun of 2d. I could see ghibli doing something completly unique with the tech
 

Pein

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,282
NYC
Miyazaki? Not the good one though and CG? 😞

They should try and cultivate some new talent other than the boss's son.
 

Bradbury

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,857
Miyazaki? Not the good one though and CG? 😞

They should try and cultivate some new talent other than the boss's son.
also this, both Ghibli and Pixar really need to do better in passing the torch now that the old guard is getting old
Nowadays is really hard to see Ghibli having a future without Miyazaki and Takahata
 

Dali

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,184
New Ghibli film - 3D CG feature

fetchimage
Straight to TV
Not directed by hayao Miyazaki

Ghibli used to be guaranteed gold but at some point I realized it was hayao Miyazaki that had most of the magic.

The story summary seems very Ghibli but all the above reasons means it'll be mediocre at best.
 

Blader

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,673
Never saw Earthsea given all the anti-hype around it lol, but I thought Poppy Hill was pretty boring and by far the worst Ghibli film of this past decade. So not that interested in whatever Goro has up next tbh, but I'll wait to see what others say about it at least.
 
Oct 25, 2017
3,065
Miyazaki? Not the good one though and CG? 😞

They should try and cultivate some new talent other than the boss's son.

They did - it resulted in the creation of Studio Ponoc.

Ghibli is probably done after Hayao Miyazaki's next film. They already closed and only "reopened" with a small team because Miyazaki was inspired to make one more film. Goro's film probably exists mainly to get some cashflow to help fund his dad's final work.