Japanese cast revealed for Ghibli’s ‘Earwig and the Witch’

Studio Ghibli has announced the Japanese voice cast for its first-ever 3D CG animated feature, Earwig and the Witch (Āya to Majo). The film is an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ novel of the same name.

The voice cast for Earwig And The Witch includes ShinobuTerajima (Caterpillar, HelterSkelter, Oh Lucy!) as Bella Yaga, Etsushi Toyokawa (live-action 20th Century Boys, Her Granddaughter) as Mandrake, Gaku Hamada (Miss Hokusai, One Piece Film Gold, live-action Space Brothers) as Thomas and Kokoro Hirasawa (Bleach) as Earwig (Aya in the Japanese version).

The film is directed by Gorō Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea, From Up on Poppy Hill, Ronja the Robber’s Daughter). Studio co-founder and the director’s father, Hayao Miyazaki, was also involved in the planning process of the project.

The official synopsis reads:

“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.”

The 82-minute feature will air on Japanese television on 30 December. GKIDS will release the feature in theatres in North America in early 2021.