Aya and the Witch photos offer a look at Studio Ghibli’s first CG animated feature film. Decades after its founding in 1985, Japan’s famed animation studio continues to be one of the most successful creators and producers of animated content in the entire world. Of course, when most people hear the name Studio Ghibli, they instantly think of Hayao Miyazaki, one of the studio’s co-founders and arguably its driving creative force over the years. Miyazaki is responsible for a wide variety of often bizarre yet utterly engaging animated classics, one of which, 2001’s Spirited Away, earned the famed filmmaker his first Oscar.
However, back in 2013, Miyazaki fans were somewhat crushed to learn that the then 72-year-old had officially retired as a director and that 2013’s The Wind Rises would be his final film for Ghibli. Thankfully, Miyazaki changed his mind after three years of retirement, returning in 2017 to work on the short film Boro the Caterpillar. He also took up directing duties once more, on the upcoming feature film How Do You Live?.
Before Miyazaki’s How Do You Live? arrives, however, Studio Ghibli is getting set to release a film this year. The new project marks a technical milestone for the studio, as it is the first feature film in the company’s history to be done with CG animation. Aside from the aforementioned short Boro the Caterpillar, all of Studio Ghibli’s productions to date have been done by 2-D animation. The upcoming new film, entitled Aya the Witch, currently has no foreign releases dates, but it is set to arrive on Japanese television provider NHK this winter. For now, Ghibli fans outside of Japan will have to settle for some newly released photos from the film, courtesy of Comic Natalie (via Slash Film). You can check out all the new photos below:
At first glance at these photos, Ghibli fans will likely be somewhat surprised. They are certainly nothing like what the animation studio is known for and it seems more than a little strange to see such glossy, fully fleshed out cartoon images from Ghibli. But there is something exciting here, and it would be a shame if fans wrote off Aya and the Witch simply because it isn’t like anything that Studio Ghibli has created before. The film’s plot tells the story of Earwig, a young girl who loves her life at the St. Morwald’s Home for Children. One day, however, everything changes for Earwig when Bella Yaga and the Mandrake adopt her and she is taken to a very strange home filled with magic, invisible rooms, potions and spell books. With the help of a talking cat, Earwig sets her sights on defeating the witch who has brought her here.
The film is directed by Miyazaki’s son, Goro, and was supposed to make its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cannes was canceled this year, resulting in the film’s far more subdued TV release. This will certainly be a new direction for Ghibli, and while CG animation may not be what made the acclaimed studio what it is today, there’s no doubt that if any animation studio can utilize the technology to its utmost, it’s Ghibli. Hopefully Aya and the Witch will reach the heights of past Ghibli releases, as it enters new and exciting creative territory.
