Read Mixed User Reviews for Tales from Earthsea

5

dosmonovichAug 5, 2015

Studio Ghibli's beautiful animation saves this film. It has a great soundtrack as well. The voice acting and story-line are what make this movie harder to keep up with. If you are a collector of Ghibli films, I recommend grabbing it for yourStudio Ghibli's beautiful animation saves this film. It has a great soundtrack as well. The voice acting and story-line are what make this movie harder to keep up with. If you are a collector of Ghibli films, I recommend grabbing it for your collection, as it's not a great movie, but not a bad one either.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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5

AriseAndBeAug 7, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The only thing preventing Tales from Earthsea from being my least favourite Ghibli film is Teru's song. It's a perfect piece of tranquility and a welcomed escape from the rest of the movie which is overly confusing and yet basic at the same time. Arren ties with Jiro from The Wind Rises as being my least favourite Ghibli character and the visuals are sub par for a Ghibli film. Thankfully Goro Miyazaki made up for his poor performance with From Up on Poppy Hill.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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5

SuperKurzaczMay 2, 2012

Not the best movie it is so so.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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5

heyitsmegrif4Jan 2, 2012

It has Studio Ghibli's gorgeous animation but a story that is boring. It is wonderous along with its visuals but with weak voice acting it fails. I give this movie 54%.

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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6

jeff_reviewsJul 5, 2013

"Tales from Earthsea" is once again, wonderfully animated by Ghibli, and despite its usage of violence and finess lacking and its confusing plot elements, its rather not that bad. While it's not as warming other Ghibli movies, it still"Tales from Earthsea" is once again, wonderfully animated by Ghibli, and despite its usage of violence and finess lacking and its confusing plot elements, its rather not that bad. While it's not as warming other Ghibli movies, it still conveys enough action that it's not considered bad.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

Kai82Jul 7, 2021

It has the reputation of being the worst Studio Ghibli movie and some even claim it is the only bad movie they made except for the art style and presentation. It is set in Ursula K. Le Guin Earthsea fantasy realm. She created her own greatIt has the reputation of being the worst Studio Ghibli movie and some even claim it is the only bad movie they made except for the art style and presentation. It is set in Ursula K. Le Guin Earthsea fantasy realm. She created her own great fantasy world in the Earthsea novels and her works are considered as cult classic of the genre (but like the more famous Tolkien books too are not for everyone). To get this done it is told that she said to the director Goro Miyazaki that it was not her book but his movie and it was a good movie. Later she said that the movie was a disappointment at the end. Back to the movie: With all that above said I was curious about the movie and want to know if the criticism was correct or a hyperbole. Story: There is something wrong in the world of Earthsea as two dragons clash at sea, the cattle gets ill and the harvest dies on the field. All kingdoms are on a slow path to ruin. Meanwhile the teenager Arren is on a journey without a true goal when he is saved by the mage Sparrowhawk. They continue their journey together as it seems their meeting was guided by fate. This is the set up for the story. The story is actually not that bad as I see no critical missteps. It is more underwhelming and slower. Some parts are like a slice of life without anything mayor happening. They put more effort into exploring the characters including mindsets, views and motivations without distractions (This can be translated to boring for some). I think the criticism is right that it is the weakest movie release by Studio Ghibli. They set the bars high and their reputation is hard to keep up over the years. I must mention that this means not that it is garbage. I was entertained and liked the movie but it was not that impressive or amazing. Characters: I like the characters in the movie but they lack the last push to win me over completely. Arren and Sparrowhawk work well together so it is a shame they do not use them better. Therru is an interesting character and works well as does Tenar. The bad guys are a bit too one dimensional for my taste and lack the depth and charisma of their counterparts in other Ghibli movies. Again I sound too negative as it is not garbage just not really good or on the same level as previous movies (I noticed that I repeat this a lot). For the art style and visuals this is truly a Studio Ghibli movie. The characters look great and the world is beautiful. Hort Town looks amazing and has a charm. The landscape are beautiful too especially the desert at the beginning. In this category there is nothing to criticize. The soundtrack is the same and enhanced the atmosphere. At the end I hate to admit that the criticism is right for it being the weakest Studio Ghibli movie. It fails to reach the levels of the better movies. I will however say it is not garbage as I have seen much worse movies. The difficult question at the end is the rating. How much did my expectation harm the experience or better said did I set the bars (unfairly) too high? I will give a 6/10 here. Maybe watch or read a review from someone who have not watched the other Studio Ghibli movies to get a fairer review.… Expand

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5

MahmusOct 19, 2020

Tales from Earthsea is easily the worst Ghibli movie, but it still features enough beautiful visuals and fantasy to make at least worth a watch.

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5

Sierra-117Dec 6, 2020

This is the film that should have launched Goro Miyazaki’s career (the son of legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki), but unfortunately he failed rather spectacularly to capture any of the magic so prominent in his father’s work. Watching thisThis is the film that should have launched Goro Miyazaki’s career (the son of legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki), but unfortunately he failed rather spectacularly to capture any of the magic so prominent in his father’s work. Watching this film, it’s so blatantly obvious that Goro is attempting to replicate some of Miyazaki’s themes, characters and just general tropes. He reintroduces that classic naivety so common amongst Miyazaki protagonists, but it just does not work at all. Arren is pretty much just a redo of **** but in order to add some much needed 'complexity', he’s given a dark side which instead just makes him seem both unlikable and unrealistic simultaneously. Within the first 15 minutes of the movie he literally kills his father for no reason other than "I don’t know what made me do it". I think it’s safe to say that Arren is my far the worst protagonist I’ve ever seen in a Ghibli movie. Tales From Earthsea is based on a four part series by acclaimed author Ursula Le Guin, who herself has made absolutely clear that she despised the film. For some absurd reason, Goro Miyazaki decided to adapt the third book whilst also borrowing some elements from the fourth, and in the end it just results in the narrative being an absolute **** In A Wizard Of Earthsea, the first novel in the series, we are introduced to Sparrowhawk (or Ged) when he’s only a child, and we are shown every aspect of Le Guin’s extraordinary world through his every experience, however in the film we are thrust into the third act of Sparrowhawk’s journey with little to no context, and thus we are forced to sit through heaps and heaps of forced exposition, which doesn’t even fully explain many aspects. To make things worse, other than the names and overall plot (which is still drastically changed), there is almost no semblance to the original novels. Sparrowhawk used to be an arrogant, naive yet kind wizard, but now he’s pretty much just an animated Gandalf. Tenar used to be wild and vulgar, yet also good hearted, but now she is reduced to the most generic mother figure you’ll ever see on television. It’s like they just dumbed everything down to make it easier for the average American viewer to understand or something? Le Guin’s main criticism was that Goro turned her brilliant world of both dazzling fantastical elements and heaps of moral ambiguity, into a cliche black and white narrative, which pitches the entire story as just a battle between good vs evil (or light versus dark). The antagonist, Cob, was formed by Sparrowhawk when he was younger and more arrogant, however in the film he’s just... the bad guy. There are a few subtle references to Sparrowhawk, Tenar and Cob’s backstory, (for example the fact that Ged used to be a stable boy from Gont is briefly touched upon, as are the Tombs of Atuan), but when I say they’re subtle, I mean it. I’m pretty sure it would fly right over the heads of everyone who hasn’t read the books. I could go on for hours about how badly Goro Miyazaki adapted my favourite series, and how I’ve never seen half as much wasted potential in my life, however to spare you a full on rant I’ll move on.
The dialogue is also pretty poor. At times a character might say something really cheesy like "I’m doing this, for life", but we’re expected to just go with it because there’s epic music in the background (sound at all familiar? I’m looking at you Endgame). To be fair, there are some points it is somewhat effective, and I’m able to shrug it off and attempt to live in the moment. This film isn’t all bad. The score (oh the score *chiefs kiss*) is absolutely phenomenal. Tamiya Terashima made a soundtrack so beautiful and effective that it even rivals some of Joe Hisaishi’s work. If you’re like me, where the difference between a boring and enjoyable moment can often be the use of a soundtrack, then Tales From Earthsea might still hold some entertainment value. Of course, like any Ghibli film, the animation is top notch, and these two elements combined with Le Guin’s perfect world building, make my time with this film actually somewhat enjoyable. As much as I hate how dumbed down the characters are, I do enjoy Sparrowhawk and Therru’s presence on screen, so much so in fact that they almost (ALMOST) save the film from Anakin Skywalker *cough* I mean Arren’s awful writing. That being said, despite the great soundtrack, animation and world building, I cannot in good conscience say that Tales From Earthsea is a good movie, or even a decent movie. In the end, it’s just jaw droppingly mediocre.… Expand

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4

RandUm801eeeSep 26, 2022

If there is any book series that would be best suited to a Ghibli adaptation, it would be Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea cycle. Initially skeptical of giving her material to any filmmaker, Le Guin changed her mind after watching films such as MyIf there is any book series that would be best suited to a Ghibli adaptation, it would be Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea cycle. Initially skeptical of giving her material to any filmmaker, Le Guin changed her mind after watching films such as My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. Afterwards, she allowed Hayao Miyazaki to adapt her work.

However, conflict arose when Mamoru Hosoda was booted off the director's chair for Howl's Moving Castle, forcing Hayao to take over that film's production. Thus, Earthsea was handed off to Hayao's son, Goro, a landscaper who had never made a film up until that point. While there hasn't been a lot of information about the film's production, it seems like it was greatly troubled.

At the grand premiere, Hayao Miyazaki walked out halfway through the film to take a smoke, saying, "I feel like I was in there for three hours." On one hand, it's easy to accuse him of being disrespectful to his son. On the other hand, if I had to sit through Tales From Earthsea, I would also have walked out.

The plot is a strange mash-up of the third and fourth books (Arren going on a quest with Sparrowhawk, Tenar raising the disfigured Therru on a farm) with elements from the first two books thrown in. There are also strange new additions, such as Arren killing his own father, a plot thread that is never clearly explained. The result of all this tinkering is a film that feels simultaneously overstuffed and empty, throwing numerous fantasy tropes at the screen but never stopping to give the characters interiority, or to flesh out the world of Earthsea.

Compounding issues is the film's direction. It is obvious that Goro has never directed a film before. The film is unevenly paced, and most of the film is flatly-staged scenes of characters rattling off exposition, rather than depicting anything through visuals. The attempts to mimic Hayao or Takahata's moments of quiet come across as lethargic. And most of the animation is uncharacteristically stiff and stilted for a Ghibli production. (Plus, most of the characters have been whitewashed from their book counterparts.) All of these issues compound one another, giving the movie Phantom Menace vibes.

The only real successes of the film are it's lovely naturalistic backdrops, and the music by Temiya Terashima. There is a song in the middle of the movie that, while bafflingly out of place, is nice to listen to. Pretty can only take the movie so far, though, especially when there are many Ghibli movies that are just as attractive, if not more so. Despite all of this, I still want Ghibli to take another stab at adapting Earthsea. The themes and world of the books are so well-suited to Ghibli's output that, despite this botched attempt, I would want them to have another go at it.… Expand

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