Thank the boiler man, you idiot, for this Studio Ghibli thread

Since all the other Ghibli threads are about specific films.

I watched Earwig and the Witch with our daughter the other day. I tried to go in with an open mind but oh dear. The character models really are on a par with those low effort CGI kids shows that Netflix/whoever churn out. No detail in the faces and they move like they're on rails. Aside from one or two good looking outdoor shots near the beginning and one or two interesting rooms, for the most part it's suffocatingly set in one small cottage. The story is just a single act and Earwig has the same pollyanna attitude throughout so there's very little sense of peril or drama. There's a lot of unfilled backstory which, yes, works great in Spirited Away and others but here it really fills like a missed opportunity - twelve witches who run everything, tell me more! No? Not even a tiny bit? Ok :(

The new feature film from director Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli has been announced! HOW DO YOU LIVE (tentative title) opens in theaters in Japan on July 14, 2023. https://t.co/fHnLM6epTS

— Studio Ghibli (@GhibliUSA) December 13, 2022

I could have done without the Baby Yoda meets the Soot Gremlins short that turned up on Disney recently. If they must do an ambitious brand crossover event, give us Catbus Vs the Wampa ffs.

I just put a library hold on the book How Do You Live? and, of course, inevitably, "with a foreword by Neil Gaiman."

is the new one actually animated or is it the gross earwig and the witch cgi?

Everything is hand drawn, apparently.

I read the book, quite coincidentally, last month. It's good, sort of life advice aimed at adolescents but not at all childish and quite profound in places.

Joe Hisaishi composing too.

I have way too high hopes for whatever this movie is.

only fair. any new hayao miyazaki film at this point is a gift.

Yeah. A few years ago it really seemed like the Ghibli era was finished.