Review: Tales from Earthsea

Tales from Earthsea (Goro Miyazaki 2006- Japan, 2010- The United States)

Studio Ghibli is the most renowned animation studio in the world.  Some of the major films of the studio include Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Howl's Moving Castle.  Unlike other animation studios where multiple directors make their own films and there are really no directorial traits (such as in Pixar), Ghibli has two major directors which both have their own significant directorial styles.  These directors, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, started the studio in the 1980s.  While Miyazaki is far more prolific than Takahata, both directors have made great films.  They both are aging and have tried to bring a new director into the studio in order to have someone to leave as the leader of the animation company when they both pass.  They had been unable for some time to find the next generation director for the studio until recently.  This did not come however from the directorial debut of Goro Miyazaki, Hayao Miyazaki's son.  It instead came from the debut of Hiromasa Yonebayashi with the film Arrietty (which will be released in the US this upcoming January).

But back to Goro Miyazaki.  His directorial debut came in the form of Tales from Earthsea, a bloated overlong homage to the works of his father and Isao Takahata that I managed to finally see recently.  The movie was delayed for years in its US theatrical release because of a dispute with TNT which held US rights to the t.v. mini-series A Legend from Earthsea.  Both are based on the the original novel series by science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin. 

The film itself is bogged down by a bloated plot.  The movie runs too long and there is a long middle stretch of the film which is very boring.  The movie should have been edited better in order to avoid its poor structure and unevenness  Most of the film is rather unoriginal as well.  While homages are fine, there is a difference between one or two homages in a film to nearly copying entire parts of other films.  Two major homages/copies are from the films Horus: Prince of the Sun and The Adventures of Puss in Boots, both early works of Takahata and Miyazaki.  The villian in the movie is also rather unspectacular and one dimensional, something very uncharacteristic in a Ghilbli film in which there are usually no black and white bad guys.  The animation on the other hand is rather gorgeous in parts, thanks to the Ghibli animation staff which is the best in the world.  Too bad the script and the plot don't hold up to the animation.

While overall it is a bad movie, there are sparks of brilliance in this movie from Goro Miyazaki.  He needs to learn more as a filmmaker.  His newest film, Up from Poppy Hill, was released in Japan this past summer.  Its US release may come next year in 2012 or early 2013 (so in order to not conflict with the awards potential of the Arrietty.).  Hopefully Poppy Hill shows an increase in quality from Goro.  Early reviews are much more positive of this new movie and hopefully it is a positive step forward.  

Grade: C

Also, here is a graded list of the Studio Ghibi theatrical films:

A
Castle in the Sky (Hayao Miyazaki)
Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata)
Howl's Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki)
Kiki's Delivery Service (Hayao Miyazaki)
My Neighbor Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Hayao Miyazaki) *technically released before the official foundation of the studio*
Only Yesterday (Isao Takahata)
Pom Poko (Isao Takahata)
Ponyo (Hayao Miyazaki)
Porco Rosso (Hayao Miyazaki)
Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki)
Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)

A-
Whisper of the Heart (Yoshifumo Kondo)


B
The Cat Returns (Hiroyuki Morita)

B-
My Neighbors the Yamadas (Isao Takahata)

C
Tales from Earthsea (Goro Miyazaki)

Also, here is the trailer for the upcoming Arrietty