nicchang

What on earth happened here? Earwig and the Witch is easily Studio Ghibli's worst film yet. When I saw the first images of the film and got a glimpse at the 3D CGI animation, I was alarmed, but hey they've made such great and touching films, how bad can it be?

Except it is really bad. Earwig and the Witch is full of so many misguided creative decisions that I'm in disbelief this was made by Studio Ghibli... it lacks their charm and the end result feels like a studio cash grab. Handdrawn animation will always be superior over 3D CGI, and while I didn't hate the animation style of Earwig and the Witch, it doesn't suit the overall tone and it looks so unnatural that it's completely distracting. The character models look out of place rather than charming. When the credits played, it showed hand-drawn images of the characters and some scenarios, and wow Earwig and the Witch would've looked much better if they used that style.

But fixing the animation won't fix the awful writing. What an absolute mess of a narrative. There seems to be interesting narrative threads set up in the beginning and I thought, "hey maybe this'll be ok!" But afterwards, the film forgets about its ideas and it's clueless over what it wants to do with the plot, so it meanders and sticks to an extremely limited number of locations. Because of the limited scope of Earwig and the Witch, it makes the decision to use CGI animation much more questionable, because as a result, this style feels rarely experimented. Back to the writing, most of the humour misses the mark, the tone isn't charming and the characters are thoroughly unlikeable. EVEN Earwig is a poor role model, since she's determined to get what she wants and I found her to be a brat. Very little happens in the plot and consequently, Earwig and the Witch becomes boring and I have to wonder, what was director Goro Miyazaki aiming for here? Why did he decide to experiment with CGI here? What did he want to say about the storyline? What were his overall goals? His direction feels unclear and unfortunately, it's nowhere near as interesting as Hayao Miyazaki's skilful direction.

But what makes Earwig and the Witch a waste of time is how it ends. An ending can make or break a film, and Earwig and the Witch's ending breaks the film completely to the point that I am badly tempted to lower my score much, MUCH further. The entire film feels like one first half that fails to sufficiently develop the narrative, then the last 5 minutes suddenly skips forward and I feel like I missed out on some crucial points? But then, something finally interesting happens and just as the plot is about to start and pick up... THE FILM STOPS. It's an ending so cheap that it makes me feel cheated because I didn't get anything interesting or thoughtful out of the entire experience. At the very least this should've been a TV pilot because there are so many interesting elements that the film can't be bothered to explore. I didn't hate Earwig and the Witch, since I liked the opening scene, some of the music and sound design are awesome, there are a few fun moments, and the Japanese voice acting is good for what it does. But the more I think about Earwig and the Witch, the worse it gets. What a crushing disappointment...

Plot and Characters (3/10) Presentation and Direction (3/10) Voice acting (7/10) Script (3/10) Setting/Locations (5/10) Tone (4/10) Animation (4/10) Sound/Music (8/10) Editing (3/10) Pacing/Length (1/10)

Score: 41/100.

LIKES: +Some fun moments +Good music and sound design +Solid voice acting

DISLIKES: -Miyazaki's unclear direction -Frustratingly limited settings -Distracting CGI animation -Unfocused narrative, unlikeable characters -Script lacks charm -Lack of a resolution

On paper, the concept of Long Story Short feels unique and unusually existential for a romantic comedy and there are glimpses of genuine, thoughtful emotion to be found in the film's more dramatic moments. The idea that years of your life could suddenly turn into minutes is terrifying and also heartbreaking since you're getting closer to death and you're missing out on life, yet I can see the comedy in this premise that Long Story Short aims for, and its ambitions have to be admired. It also has a sense of sweetness that, unfortunately, feels too familiar and turns Long Story Short into a frustratingly predictable plot.

This film looks and feels generic. There is rarely anything special about the execution, even when we move forward in time, and I could not buy some of the character behaviours at all. There is a lot Long Story Short could've done to bring its premise to mind-blowing complexities, and early on, I considered the film being a potential allegory of mental illness or the search for meaning in life, yet those interpretations don't come to fruition very well. Its message is clear in that you only live once, so you need to make the most out of every second you live in and Long Story Short uses Teddy's (Rafe Spall) storyline to show the horrors of losing time, yet its messaging borders on preachy and eventually tiring.

Undoubtedly, the acting is the best aspect of Long Story Short. Rafe Spall and Zahra Newman deliver strong performances and their chemistry brought their roles to life. As uninteresting as their characters were, I could believe they were a couple. The supporting cast also give out solid performances and Noni Hazlehurst, a legendary veteran actress in Australia, is phenomenal with the screentime she gets. When Hazlehurst has her monologue towards the end, I found her characterisation more intriguing than the others. In that regard, I wasn't invested in the character work, despite how likeable the performances were, and I can't recall interesting details about them.

I'm almost convinced Long Story Short was shot amidst the COVID-19 pandemic (it was actually filmed in late 2019), because, aside from an opening scene at a crowded party, the most prominent locations are the characters' houses, a beach and a graveyard. The small number of settings gives the film a limited scope and the low-budget filmmaking is evident, which is never bad, but it's that when Teddy is realising how fast time is going by, the world doesn't seem to change within 10 years and it's another sign that screams unfulfilled potential. Just like the writing, very little about Long Story Short stands out technically. Some of the editing is poor, the cinematography is competent yet looks flat and the modern music choices don't fit well with the film, making it feel cheesy and saccharine, and its tonal balances are consequently rough. While Long Story Short does have some humour, most of its jokes fall flat, and barely anyone in my screening laughed.

The pacing mostly fits Long Story Short and helps the time pass, so it didn't drag on. The film's strongest moments are in its most emotional, one is when Teddy discovers some devastating news and, questionable directing aside, Spall's acting sends the impact across. It's when the film attempts to get existential about time and living that it shines. But all of that is completely reversed in an ending that reminded me of Click and if you remember that film, it is impossible not to correctly guess the ending of Long Story Short. But the forced feel-good conclusion ruins the bare existential depths and emotional impact prior to that, and it doesn't feel earned at all. I've never been a fan of romantic comedies and Long Story Short, unfortunately, did little to change that. I can see this resonating with most audiences nevertheless and there's several opportunities for the film to philosophically explore time, love and loss to reach greatness, but in my opinion, Long Story Short simply doesn't take full advantage of its concepts.

Plot and Characters (4/10) Presentation and Direction (4/10) Acting (8/10) Script (4/10) Setting/Locations (4/10) Tone (5/10) Cinematography/Visuals (5/10) Sound/Music (4/10) Editing (4/10) Pacing/Length (6/10)

Score: 48/100.

LIKES: +Rafe Spall, Zahra Newman and Noni Hazlehurst +Some moments of genuine emotion +Existential concept is promising +Solid pacing allows the time to pass

DISLIKES: -Tonal imbalances between flat humour and drama -Generic direction of unique concept -Off-putting music choices and editing -Limited settings -Uninteresting characters and writing -Safe, clichéd ending completely removes the emotional impact