Studio Ghibli have announced that their upcoming feature film Aya to Majo (Aya and The Witch) is set to release later this year.
The film was initially scheduled to premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival by Japanese broadcasting company NHK. However, after its cancellation due to the coronavirus pandemic, the beloved studio announced that the film will instead be screened at theatres across the globe.
Studio Ghibli have announced their upcoming feature film Aya to Majo is set to release in theatres later this year.
The film will be directed by the son of legendary Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, Goyo Miyazaki, and will be produced by Toshio Suzuki.
The plot will be based on the novel Earwig and the Witch written by Diana Wynne Jones, who also happens to be the author of the novel that Howl’s Moving Castle was based on. It follows an orphan girl, Aya, who is adopted by a witch and comes home to a spooky house filled with mystery and magic.
The film’s producer, Suzuki, expressed some of his initial concerns with releasing the film given the current global climate. in the aftermath of a global pandemic.“I thought that a number of times while watching the rushes,” he said. “Then I realised that one stand-out feature of the film is Aya’s cleverness. And if you are clever, you can survive in any period of history. Thinking that, I felt relieved.”
The new release is also set to be Studio Ghibli’s first 3D3G animated film.
