Studio Ghibli Countdown: ‘Tales From Earthsea’ 

Studio Ghibli has gained its prestige through an almost unparalleled consistency. Can you even think of a Ghibli movie that isn’t widely adored? Well, now I can.

currently holds a 41% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Now, of course we all know that Rotten Tomatoes is far from the definitive measure of quality, but research has given me a strong sense that, in general, people were disappointed.

a is directed by Goro Miyazaki. As you may be able to guess from the name, there is a relation with Ghibli’s leading figure Hayao Miyazaki. Goro was his, at the time 39 year old, son – Hayao Miyazaki had wanted to adapt Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel but was caught up in directing duties on

. Not wanting to halt the project, Goro stepped up to the table to make his first feature, against the protests of his father.

Le Guin herself was disappointed with the final film, and evidently many other viewers were. But watching it with 11 years of distance between me and its multitude of pre-production issues,  there’s an infectious charm that radiates through the film. It’s not a Ghibli classic, but it’s a hard one to write off.

The plot is a complex weave of characters tangled in masses of back-story and lore that are passed over during expository hallway conversations. Coming out just a few years after

, it’s difficult not to compare the two. Ghibli were likely hoping that the appetite for expansive fantasy those films cultivated in the market would guarantee them success.

is about dragons and kingdoms and ancient myths, but at the core of the story is a young prince named Arren who runs away from his palace home and is aided by Sparrowhawk, a wise mage.

Later, a stony faced girl named Theru and the woman who has taken her in – Tenar – are introduced. This pair of faux-parental relationships mirror each other strongly and provide an affecting, fascinating core for the film. These characters, particularly the younger ones, aren’t as richly drawn as some of Ghibli’s other heroes, but they have moments that are deeply expressive. One scene sees Theru singing to herself – or to the nature she feels so connected to – on a mountaintop, while Arren watches on in awed curiosity. It is an extended, beautiful scene that provides respite from what can be a tiresomely derivative plot.

is at its best when it abandons its mechanics in favor of pure cinematic expression, and thankfully that’s often the case.

It’s easy to cry “nepotism” and perhaps Goro Miyazaki wasn’t prepared enough to tackle something so epic in scale for his directorial debut. He struggles to find a gripping way into the story at the beginning and fumbles with structure throughout; but, I was blown away with some bursts of extreme skill he displays in moments of the film. For example, in an early scene, just before Arren first meets Sparrowhawk, he is chased by a pack of rabid wolves. The ensuing chase is drawn so intensely that you can almost feel the wind blowing past your ears. In glorious, tactile long takes, the ground flies past his feet; it’s some of the best action directing I’ve seen in a while, animation or not.

It’s this promise that makes it so disappointing that Goro Miyazaki has been able to take on so few projects since. Working on a smaller scale, he could have turned a lot of heads – and there’s certainly still time.

is distinctly imperfect, but it’s full of potential and far from terrible. Don’t worry – that Ghibli track record remains intact.

What are your thoughts? Did you enjoy Goro Miyazaki’s 

I saw this for the first time a couple of years ago and watched it for the second time a couple of days ago. I honestly couldn’t remember anything about it except for three things. 1 The bad guy had a strange, creepy design. 2 There was a dragon at the end. 3 I didn’t like it very much. Upon rewatching it, I really enjoyed the first two thirds of the movie, but its downfall was the mediocre ending. It was like the whole movie was building up to some epic ending but it just had a generic bad guy fight scene and was over. Also the ending just didn’t make too much sense and introduced new questions rather than answering all the questions i had from the first half of the movie. (I still don’t really understand anything about the dragon) I’d say its worth watching, but just don’t go into it expecting something amazing

I have to agree, this film was something of a disappointment. However, it was a real treat for me to hear Mariska Hargitay provide one of the voices in the English dub- even if the role of her character in EARTHSEA wasn’t very far removed from that of Olivia Benson on LAW & ORDER: SVU.

Haven’t seen this film yet but heard a ton of great things and hope to see this one soon from all the good I see in this article :))))

I agree. People are way too hard on this film. Sure it has some problems in the narrative but enough compelling characters and beautiful animation to entertain me.

Having seen the film for the first time last year, I remain ASTONISHED at how atrocious and miscalculated Tales From Earthsea is. From the start, it destroys our ability to relate to Arren by having him kill his own father—a practically irredeemable dilemma for our protagonist.

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