“Earwig And The Witch” English Voice Cast Announced

Earwig and the Witch is the next release from the acclaimed Studio Ghibli and marks their first foray into the realm of CG animation. Earlier this month, the company released the first trailer for the project, which has fueled excitement for the film. Many are looking forward to what the company will be able to produce by utilizing the more advanced animation techniques that have become commonplace in the industry.

A couple weeks on from that trailer, Studio Ghibli has announced the voice actors for the English-dub of the movie, which is currently in production. Richard E. Grant (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) and Dan Stevens (Legion) lead the cast, which also includes Kacey Musgraves, Pandora Colin, JB Blanc, Logan Hannan, Summer Jenkins and Vivienne Rutherford, while actress Taylor Paige Henderson will portray the titular Earwig.

The film is based on a 2011 children’s book of the same name, written by celebrated author Diana Wynne Jones. The story follows a young orphan named Earwig who gets adopted by a woman called Bella Yaga. She’ll quickly enter into a world full of magic, mystery and music, but things quickly go awry when Earwig learns that Bella is actually a witch. The young girl will then go on a quest to unlock her own set of otherworldly abilities and find her parents who went missing years earlier.

The film is being directed by Goro Miyazaki, the son of the legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki. There is no concrete release, as of yet, but with production nearing the end phase, and the voice cast lined up, it’s looking like Earwig and the Witch could debut sometime early in 2021. Whether the feature will get a cinematic release, a premium on-demand showing, or something in between, hasn’t been elaborated on. If this film proves successful, it could mark a transition for Studio Ghibli and lead to more CG-animated projects from the animation legends.