I really enjoyed the art and the texture of the character CGI, but overall the backgrounds felt dark and flat. The character work was one of the best parts of this movie, and this fun clay style along with the great voice acting really made the characters charming. (I watched in Japanese but I'm sure the dub is good too).
The story was the most lacking part of this.The different threads just didn't really come together. While most Ghibli films tend to wander, they have a strong trough line that connect back to the emotions of the characters and their internal growth. That was lacking in this story. The characters themselves are colorful and charming enough, but they don't quite make up for the lack of structure in the story. I like the sentiment of the ending, but we don't see enough of Earwig growing into her family to really see and understand that they have come to care for one another.
It's a fun kids movie, and while it might not compare to Miyazaki, it's not, in my opinion, the worst movie the studio has put out.
