Studio Ghibli's first 3DCG feature film by Goro Miyazaki to air on NHK

Studio Ghibli's first full-length 3DCG animated film, Aya to Majo (Aya and the Witch), directed by Goro Miyazaki, will premiere on Japanese public broadcaster NHK at the end of 2020. The film is based on Diana Wynne Jones's 2011 children's novel Earwig and the Witch, published in Italy by Salani in 2017. Producer Toshio Suzuki revealed that the protagonist is a wise girl named Aya who is adopted by a witch. Unlike typical Ghibli releases, the film will not debut in theaters but on television, a first for a major Ghibli production. Hayao Miyazaki participated in the planning of the film, continuing his tradition of close oversight. The project marks a generational shift at the studio: while Hayao Miyazaki is working on a hand-drawn film, Kimi-tachi wa do ikiru ka, his son Goro embraces digital CGI. The studio had been developing two films simultaneously after the death of Isao Takahata in 2018 and the departure of Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who founded Studio Ponoc in 2015. Goro previously directed the TV series Ronja the Robber's Daughter, based on Astrid Lindgren's novel, which showcased his CGI skills.