Netflix announced that the latest animated film ‘Earwig and the Witch’ by critically acclaimed Studio Ghibli will be coming to Netflix starting November 18, proudly expanding the existing film catalogue available on Netflix globally (excluding US & Japan). Since 2020, 21 films from Studio Ghibli have been available to viewers across the world, through global distribution partner Wild Bunch International and GKIDS exclusively for Canada, delighting both existing and new fans with their renowned and timeless storytelling.
Director Goro Miyazaki said, “We’re thrilled that our film Earwig and the Witch will reach many countries and territories through Netflix. The film is Studio Ghibli’s first fully 3D CGI film which prompted us with an exciting challenge to reflect the spirit and pride of our studio using this new artform. Through that experience we met Earwig, our rebellious protagonist who grows to overcome difficulties with her wits and relentless energy. We hope you will come to love our Earwig, just like you enjoyed spending time with the main characters in our last 21 films.
Today, the world is forced to continue its journey into a chaotic era. We hope this film will inspire our children who live long into the future.”
Aram Yacoubian, Director of Animation Film at Netflix, said, “We’re incredibly fortunate to continue expanding the Studio Ghibli film lineup on Netflix by streaming Earwig and the Witch. The highly anticipated new film of Goro Miyazaki will bring a fresh perspective to the wildly popular Studio Ghibli films. In countries and territories where we stream Studio Ghibli films (excluding US and Japan), 55M households have chosen to watch a Studio Ghibli film on Netflix since 2020, and that number will only continue to grow. We’ve been blown away by the positive reactions from viewers everywhere, proving that stories can come from anywhere, and can be loved everywhere”.
The latest movie ‘Earwig and the Witch’ tells the story of a headstrong young girl, 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. Directed by Goro Miyazaki and with a planning by Hayao Miyazaki and screenplay by Keiko Niwa and Emi Gunji, the story of Earwig is based on a novel of the same name by English writer Diana Wynne Jones. The movie will be premiering on Netflix starting November 18.
Joining classic films like ‘My Neighbor Totoro’, ‘Princess Mononoke’ or the Academy Award-winning ‘Spirited Away’, the adventures of Earwig will soon be available to fans across the world and in over 30 languages, including Japanese, English, Mandarin, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai in addition to many more language available in subtitles . See below for the full lineup of Studio Ghibli films available on Netflix:
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
- Castle in the Sky (1986)
- My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
- Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
- Only Yesterday (1991)
- Porco Rosso (1992)
- Ocean Waves (1993)
- Pom Poko (1994)
- Whisper of the Heart (1995)
- Princess Mononoke (1997)
- My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
- Spirited Away (2001)
- The Cat Returns (2002)
- Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
- Tales from Earthsea (2006)
- Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008)
- Arrietty (2010)
- From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
- The Wind Rises (2013)
- The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)
- When Marnie Was There (2014)
- Earwig and the Witch (2020)
Visit the Studio Ghibli Netflix Page for more info
About ‘Earwig and the Witch’:
Earwig, a 10-year-old orphan girl, has grown up in a home for children where she always gets her way, and never wants for anything. One day, she is visited by a strange couple: a gaudy-looking woman who goes by the name Bella Yaga, and a lanky gentleman called Mandrake. They take Earwig back to their abode. “I’m a witch. I brought you into this house… because I need another pair of hands.” – ”You agree that you’ll teach me everything you know about magic. And I agree to remain here and help you out!” So begins Earwig’s agreement with Bella Yaga, and her new life working as a witch’s helper. However, all the hostile woman does is work the defiant girl to the bone, without teaching her even a smidgen of magic. For the first time ever, Earwig finds herself at someone else’s beck and call, so she joins forces with Bella Yaga’s familiar, a magic-savvy black cat named Thomas, and goes on the counterattack!
About Studio Ghibli:
Founded in 1985 by Japanese animated film directors Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli has produced twenty-three feature-length films garnering worldwide acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Cultivating a creative force of talented directors, animators, and storytellers under the revered brilliance of Takahata and Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli films have been praised for their originality, dazzling animation, and epic storytelling becoming a beloved part of Japanese popular culture. Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away won the Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature of 2002 and in 2005 Miyazaki was named one of “the most influential people” by TIME Magazine.
About Wild Bunch International:
Based in Paris, Wild Bunch International is a world-renowned independent film sales company, its position strengthened by both a wealth of experience recognized by foreign distributors world-wide and abroad, artistically diverse selection of the best of director-led international cinema, currently handling an international sales catalogue of around 500 titles.
About GKIDS:
GKIDS is a New York-based producer and distributor of award-winning feature animation for
both adult and family audiences. Since 2009, the company has scored eleven Best Animated
Feature Oscar® nominations with The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita
in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea in 2015, Boy and the World and When Marnie Was There in 2016, My Life as a Zucchini in 2017, The Breadwinner in 2018, and Mirai in 2019. GKIDS also handles North American distribution for the famed Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world’s most coveted animation collections with titles such as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and more.
About Netflix:
Netflix is the world’s leading streaming entertainment service with over 209 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.
