Excellent, a Must See

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

I think Studio Ghibhli did a pretty good job of making this film. This is coming from a person who has never read the book and believe it or not I was actually planing on seeing this film for 6 months due to other movies and exams I was too distracted. But when I finished my ICT exam I decided to have the evening off and watch a movie so I came across Tales of earthsea. I have to say the movie was very beautiful. The music was also very beautiful to listen. The voice acting is pretty decent. The only thing that concerned me was that is Cob a male or a female because he had the appearance of a female but a male voice actor (William Defoe). Had good life lessons. I can see why some people might be angry since it is probably nothing like the book. But ignore the haters it is a pretty amazing film.

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.

While I have not watched the film in its native Japanese dialogue, only in the English dubbing, the outcome would probably be the same. Not a bad anime film by any means, but not exactly one of the greatest either.The story follows runaway prince Arren (voiced in the English dub by Matt Levine), as he flees his homeland after killing his father (why? I still don't know...) and meets up with the wise and kind wizard, Sparrowhawk (Timothy Dalton). The two journey to a farm run by an old friend of the wizard, Tenar (Mariska Hargitay) and her ward, Therrau (Blaire Restaneo). Things soon become complicated for the four when the evil dark wizard, Cob (voiced by a deliciously evil Willem Dafoe in the English dub), seeks to control all of Earthsea and become an immortal. It falls upon the two young characters of Arren and Therrau to rescue their mentors and stop the dark wizard's plan.As far the voice cast goes, the results are a mixed bag. The younger actors, Levine and Restaneo, are relatively irritating at times as they act childishly and aren't overtly compelling. There are redeeming moments for them at the end of the film as their maturity is brought out to give some growth to the characters. Actors Dalton and Hargitay are both satisfactory as their caring guardians. Dalton brings a wisdom and understanding to Sparrowhawk and is vulnerable to an extent while Hargitay's Tenar is kind, but brave when faced with danger and also headstrong but above the damsel in distress cliché. The film's best English dubbing comes from the wickedly sinister Willem Dafoe as the villain, Cob. Dafoe is known for his trademark low and gravely voice which he uses to perfection as Cob; mostly barely audible in more than a whisper but at times lifting the octave to a quick snarl before slipping back into his soft-spoken wickedness. The actor delivers his lines almost like a snake, putting us into a trance as each word slips out with a soft and almost off-putting hiss. The film's visuals are mostly subpar for a Studio Ghibli feature. The dragons in the film are impressive and the landscapes are pretty to look at. The characters are drawn quite vividly and are expressive during certain dialogue exchanges, but aren't nearly as animated as most anime features.

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.