Reptileenbu
Did you people see the same film I saw?
Senteur
As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Curt
Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.
r-hehl
I just saw this film on DVD and was a little disappointed. Right at the start one of the main characters commits a terrible crime. Although in the course of the movie it becomes clear that he may have been influenced by an evil ghost, it is hard to develop sympathy for him. Also the other characters are poorly developed leaving a lot of questions about their pasts to understand their sometimes inconceivable behaviour. Beside these problems with the story, the animation is excellent. The backgrounds are rich in details, reminding me of a medieval city in the bycantine era. Unfortunately, at the end of the movie I was left with more questions than answers.
Amrit Tamang
I was very excited to see this anime as I like most productions of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. The plot centers around a boy who really doesn't like or even hates his father. Well, and that's it. There is no tension build up. The omission of background information does not produce an intriguing sense of mystery but rather poses an annoyance. The characters motivation and development are unclear. The story doesn't flow at all and feels like patchwork. There may be something to the story but the director did not manage to deliver.The three-star rating is due to the solid quality of the drawing. Does the film reflect the reality between Goro Miyazaki and his father? Who knows.
rjciez
I was expecting this movie to be terrible after reading several comments suggesting this is the worst movie produced by Ghibli.Fortunately I was gladly surprised by the quality of the movie. I have not read the book series though.It is true that at times the movie tries to copy the same vibe of Mononoke (the soundtrack, the epic character of the movie, even Cob gets his hand chopped, something I have only seen once before in a Ghibli movie), but at the same time it has a totally different main plot (this does not try to deal with environmentalism but it kind of approaches our own limited existence).The end feels a bit rushed. I was utterly confused when Theru suddenly transforms into a dragon and then goes back to a girl (maybe I missed something), fortunately they wrap it up nicely at the end.Overall, I would recommend it. Very different from other Ghibli movies (not recommended for kids i guess), and not at the level of the best movies put by the studio, but this does not make it bad at all.
Roman Jones
I just finished watching Studio Ghibli's "Tales From Earthsea" expecting to see, and I quote from JesuOtaku, 'Hands down the worst Ghibli movie ever."It starts out clunky - there's lots of expositing and breaking the "show don't tell rule", it's kinda slow, we don't see much of the world here, most people speak in whispers for no reason,the main character mugs at the camera a lot, and his sword looks humorously phallic.But... it's not a bad movie. Not at all. And definitely not at all the worst Ghibli film. I can name three others that are much much worse in terms of storytelling, editing, and overall craft. I have no problem following the story. I can remember all of the character's names. I genuinely cared about what was happening. The villain Cob is SCARY and COMPLETELY worth your time to watch it. I think the main reason people hate it is because A. It's directed by Miyazaki's son and not him, and B. It doesn't FEEL like a Ghibli film. It is obviously made by very different minds than those who made Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky, and Princess Mononoke. And you know what? That's okay!The movie reminds me of the classic 1970's-early 90's fantasy genres. Ladyhawke, Dragonheart, Krull, and Highlander. All of those had lots of expositing (because they didn't have the budget for showing us the amazing lands they were talking about), plenty of mugging/overacting, whispering to make the scenes more dramatic and therefore cheesy, often slow at the beginnings, and had hilarious phallic or otherwise goofy props. They also all have really sugary morals at the end given to us in a speech, just like in Earthsea. And these movies hold a special nostalgic place in my heart. Animation can totally show us these worlds so the reason they aren't shown to us HAS to be a stylistic choice (or the budget was really that low, which is okay). Is this film a love letter to those fantasy movies? If so I can believe it. Tales From Earthsea isn't a terrible movie. Not at all. It's sweet, enjoyable, terrifying at times, and gave me a delicious plate of nostalgia.