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Tales from Earthsea (film)
Encyclopedia
is a 2006 Japan
ese animated fantasy film
directed by Gorō Miyazaki
and produced by Studio Ghibli
.
The film is based on a combination of plots and characters from the first four books of Ursula K. Le Guin
's Earthsea
series: A Wizard of Earthsea
, The Tombs of Atuan
, The Farthest Shore
and Tehanu
. The change of plot was "entirely different" according to the author Ursula K. Le Guin who told director Gorō Miyazaki, "It is not my book. It is your movie."The film is also inspired by Hayao Miyazaki
's manga The Journey of Shuna.
s fighting above the clouds, one of which is killed by the other.
The King of Enlad, already troubled by tales of drought and pestilence in the land, receives news both of the strange omen at sea and of the disappearance of his son, Prince Arren. The King's wizard, Root, tells the tale of how dragons and men were once "one", until dragons chose freedom, and men chose possessions, and of his fears of how the land's plight is because of the weakening of the "balance". The King has little time to ponder on this before he is killed in a dark corridor by a young boy, who is revealed to be his son Arren. The prince steals his father's sword and flees the palace.
The action now moves to desert where Arren is pursued by wolves, and rescued by a wizard who turns out to be Ged or Sparrowhawk the Archmage. Arren accompanies Sparrowhawk and travels to the city of Hort Town. Arren goes to explore the town alone, suddenly becoming scared as if something is following him. As Arren runs away, he sees a young girl, Therru, fleeing from slavers from whom he then saves her, although he also shocks her with his indifference to the life of any person, even his own.
Later in the evening Arren is captured by the slavers but loses his sword as the head slaver believes it to be worthless junk. Arren is rescued by Sparrowhawk from the slavers, and they travel to a farm where Therru is looked after by a woman, Tenar, whom Sparrowhawk knows.
The head slaver ("Hare") reports back into a castle to Lord Cob, and almost pays with his life for the loss, until he tells Cob that Sparrowhawk freed the slaves. Cob orders him to bring Sparrowhawk to the castle. Sparrowhawk at the farm reveals that he is investigating the cause of the Balance being upset and leaves for Hort Town, in which he discovers the sword that Arren had is in a merchant shop. Sparrowhawk is then confronted by Hare, but transforms his face to disguise himself. When the slavers leave, he buys the sword.
Arren, at the retreat, reveals to Therru, who gradually accepted him, that he killed his father and that he is scared of the unknown presence following him. Later he leaves in secret. Tenar is captured by the slavers as bait to lure Sparrowhawk into the castle and leaves Therru behind tied to a post as a messenger. Arren is again pursued by the unknown presence and runs away, falling into a lake and falling unconscious underwater. Cob, who sees this, saves him and brings him to the castle, where he manipulates him, saying Sparrowhawk wants to use Arren to discover the secret of eternal life. Cob blackmails Arren to reveal his true name, Lebannen, to control him. Sparrowhawk, on the way back to the farm, encounters Therru, who freed herself, and gives her the sword, telling her to stay and give it to Arren if he returns. He goes to the castle to save Tenar but instead finds Arren, who tries to kill him, but fails. Sparrowhawk tells Arren that death is natural and that no one can live forever causing Arren to realize what he almost did, before being captured as his power is weakened within the stronghold of Cob's castle.
Therru sees a copy of Arren and follows him to the castle, where he reveals he is the light of Arren. He tells Therru his true name and says while he cannot go into the castle, he will be with her at all moments. Inside of the castle, Therru finds Arren, guilty and full of hopelessness, and brought hope back to him by saying his true name, breaking Cob's control over him. She also tells him her true name, Tehanu. Both go to rescue Sparrowhawk and Tenar from Cob who is about to throw them off a high tower. After fighting and scaring off Hare and the slave traders, the sword that Arren possesses unsheathes, revealing that this is due to its magical nature, and he cuts off Cob's hand, which flies away still holding his staff, rendering him unable to use magic. Cob becomes old due to the loss of the magic cast on himself. Cob, after reattaching his severed hand, captures Therru and flees to the highest tower on the castle, with Arren in hot pursuit. Cornered, Cob strangles Therru to death. However, she does not die, and instead becomes a dragon, thus killing Cob and rescuing Arren from the collapsing tower that Cob destroyed to prevent Arren from advancing.
Therru and Arren land at a field where Therru reforms as a human. Arren tells Therru he will leave for home to repent for his crime, but will come back to see her sometime.
from Studio Ghibli is the first anime film adaptation of any part of the Earthsea series. In the past, many directors, including Hayao Miyazaki, had tried to adapt the Earthsea cycle for film but were disapproved by the author herself.
In 2003, after winning an Oscar
for his film Spirited Away
, Hayao Miyazaki received approval but was busy directing Howl's Moving Castle
. For Studio Ghibli, his son Gorō Miyazaki, who was working as advisor on the film, was given directing-responsibility for the adaptation.
Studio Ghibli released the first and second trailers on its official web site.
hybrid SACD
-CD on 12 July 2006. Its release code is TKGA-503 and ASIN
is B000FNNOTG. Carlos Núñez
was a key collaborator on the soundtrack, contributing his ocarina
, whistle
and Galician gaita
(bagpipe) to 11 of the 22 tracks. Newcomer singer, Aoi Teshima
, sang in 2 of the tracks. A followup album, "Melodies from Gedo Senki", was released in 17 January 2007 and included unreleased Gedo Senki OST tracks and new tracks by Núñez. Its release code is SICP-1151 and its ASIN is B000HT1ZLW.
to second place and became the number one movie in the country for five weeks, until it was pushed out of the top spot when X-Men: The Last Stand
was released. The movie went on to be the #4 top grossing movie for the year in Japan.
Ursula K. Le Guin
, the author of the Earthsea Series, gave a mixed response to the film in her review on her website. Le Guin commended the visual animation in the film but stated that the plot departed so greatly from her story that she was "watching an entirely different story, confusingly enacted by people with the same names as in my story." She also praised certain depictions of nature in the film, but felt that the production values of the film were not as high as previous works directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and that the film's excitement was focused too much around scenes of violence. Her initial response to Goro Miyazaki was "It is not my book. It is your movie. It is a good movie". However, she stated that the comment disclosed on the movie's public blog did not portray her true feelings about the film's vast departure from original stories; "taking bits and pieces out of context, and replacing the story/ies with an entirely different plot..."
Le Guin's mixed opinion of the film is indicative of the overall reception of the film, particularly in Japan. In Japan, the film found both strong proponents and detractors. Many of the opinions can best be summed up in a response to Le Guin's comments on her website, that the weak points of the film were the result of "when too much responsibility was shouldered by someone not equipped for it".
The critical reception in Japan was also very mixed. By the end of the year of its release, Tales from Earthsea was awarded "Worst Movie" in the Bunshun Raspberry Awards
, with director Goro Miyazaki being given the "Worst Director" award.
As of September 2011, Rotten Tomatoes
' Tomatometer shows a rating of 42%, with an Audience rating of 49%. IMDb also lists the film as having 6.5 stars out of 10, with 6,092 votes.
. In its American release, the film was rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some violent images, making it the first Disney (either produced or distributed) animated film to receive a PG-13 rating, as well as the fifth film by Walt Disney Pictures to be rated PG-13. It is also the second Studio Ghibli film to receive this rating after Princess Mononoke
. The DVD release date was March 8, 2011.
The film was released in selected UK
cinemas
on August 3, 2007, in both subtitled and English dubbed versions. The film was not released as widely as previous Ghibli movies, playing to 23 venues across the nation and making an unremarkable £23,300. Reviews were generally mixed. Radio Times
suggested that it "lacks the technical sheen and warm sentimentality of some of Ghibli's earlier films", while the Daily Mirror called it "ploddy, excruciatingly slow" and not in the same league as the work of Hayao Miyazaki. However, Empire magazine
said it was "well worth watching" while The Guardian
called it "An engaging piece of work"
DVD distributor Optimum Releasing
released an English dubbed and subtitled, region 2 DVD for the UK market on January 28, 2008. To mark the release, HMV ran frequent sponsor credits for the DVD, as well as a prize competition, on the AnimeCentral
channel.
In Australia
, Tales from Earthsea premiered in Brisbane
on April 15, 2007. The film began a single print tour of major cities on April 25, 2007 and ended up playing at locations in Brisbane
, Sydney
, Melbourne
, Adelaide
and Perth
over the following months. It was notable that unlike previous Studio Ghibli releases, only a subtitled version was seen in cinemas. A 2 disc DVD was released on September 12, 2007 by Madman Entertainment
, this time featuring both the English and Japanese versions.
In Spain
, Tales from Earthsea (Cuentos de Terramar) premiered only in Madrid
and Barcelona
in 2 small theaters on December 28, 2007, only in Japanese version with subtitles (An odd theatrical release compared to previous Ghibli movies). A Single DVD and a Special 2 disc DVD were released on March 12, 2008 by Aurum, this time with Spanish track included.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese animated fantasy film
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
directed by Gorō Miyazaki
Goro Miyazaki
is a Japanese film director of anime feature films, like his internationally-known father Hayao Miyazaki. Described as "reluctant" to follow his father's career, for decades Gorō chose to work in landscaping rather than animation....
and produced by Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
.
The film is based on a combination of plots and characters from the first four books of Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
's Earthsea
Earthsea
Earthsea is a fictional realm originally created by Ursula K. Le Guin for her short story "The Word of Unbinding", published in 1964. Earthsea became the setting for a further six books, beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, and continuing with The Tombs of Atuan, The...
series: A Wizard of Earthsea
A Wizard of Earthsea
A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, is the first of a series of books written by Ursula K. Le Guin and set in the fantasy world archipelago of Earthsea depicting the adventures of a budding young wizard named Ged...
, The Tombs of Atuan
The Tombs of Atuan
The Tombs of Atuan is the second of a series of books written by Ursula K. Le Guin and set in her fantasy archipelago of Earthsea, first published in 1971. Its events take place a few years after those in A Wizard of Earthsea and around two decades before those in The Farthest Shore...
, The Farthest Shore
The Farthest Shore
The Farthest Shore is the third of a series of books written by Ursula K. Le Guin and set in her fantasy archipelago of Earthsea, first published in 1972. It follows on from The Tombs of Atuan, which itself was a sequel to A Wizard of Earthsea. It is the Earthsea series novel which inspired the...
and Tehanu
Tehanu
Tehanu is the fourth of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1990, and the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1991.-Plot summary:...
. The change of plot was "entirely different" according to the author Ursula K. Le Guin who told director Gorō Miyazaki, "It is not my book. It is your movie."The film is also inspired by Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
's manga The Journey of Shuna.
Story
A war galley is caught in a storm at sea. The ship's weatherworker is distressed to realise he has lost the power to control the wind and waves, but is more so when he sees two dragonDragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s fighting above the clouds, one of which is killed by the other.
The King of Enlad, already troubled by tales of drought and pestilence in the land, receives news both of the strange omen at sea and of the disappearance of his son, Prince Arren. The King's wizard, Root, tells the tale of how dragons and men were once "one", until dragons chose freedom, and men chose possessions, and of his fears of how the land's plight is because of the weakening of the "balance". The King has little time to ponder on this before he is killed in a dark corridor by a young boy, who is revealed to be his son Arren. The prince steals his father's sword and flees the palace.
The action now moves to desert where Arren is pursued by wolves, and rescued by a wizard who turns out to be Ged or Sparrowhawk the Archmage. Arren accompanies Sparrowhawk and travels to the city of Hort Town. Arren goes to explore the town alone, suddenly becoming scared as if something is following him. As Arren runs away, he sees a young girl, Therru, fleeing from slavers from whom he then saves her, although he also shocks her with his indifference to the life of any person, even his own.
Later in the evening Arren is captured by the slavers but loses his sword as the head slaver believes it to be worthless junk. Arren is rescued by Sparrowhawk from the slavers, and they travel to a farm where Therru is looked after by a woman, Tenar, whom Sparrowhawk knows.
The head slaver ("Hare") reports back into a castle to Lord Cob, and almost pays with his life for the loss, until he tells Cob that Sparrowhawk freed the slaves. Cob orders him to bring Sparrowhawk to the castle. Sparrowhawk at the farm reveals that he is investigating the cause of the Balance being upset and leaves for Hort Town, in which he discovers the sword that Arren had is in a merchant shop. Sparrowhawk is then confronted by Hare, but transforms his face to disguise himself. When the slavers leave, he buys the sword.
Arren, at the retreat, reveals to Therru, who gradually accepted him, that he killed his father and that he is scared of the unknown presence following him. Later he leaves in secret. Tenar is captured by the slavers as bait to lure Sparrowhawk into the castle and leaves Therru behind tied to a post as a messenger. Arren is again pursued by the unknown presence and runs away, falling into a lake and falling unconscious underwater. Cob, who sees this, saves him and brings him to the castle, where he manipulates him, saying Sparrowhawk wants to use Arren to discover the secret of eternal life. Cob blackmails Arren to reveal his true name, Lebannen, to control him. Sparrowhawk, on the way back to the farm, encounters Therru, who freed herself, and gives her the sword, telling her to stay and give it to Arren if he returns. He goes to the castle to save Tenar but instead finds Arren, who tries to kill him, but fails. Sparrowhawk tells Arren that death is natural and that no one can live forever causing Arren to realize what he almost did, before being captured as his power is weakened within the stronghold of Cob's castle.
Therru sees a copy of Arren and follows him to the castle, where he reveals he is the light of Arren. He tells Therru his true name and says while he cannot go into the castle, he will be with her at all moments. Inside of the castle, Therru finds Arren, guilty and full of hopelessness, and brought hope back to him by saying his true name, breaking Cob's control over him. She also tells him her true name, Tehanu. Both go to rescue Sparrowhawk and Tenar from Cob who is about to throw them off a high tower. After fighting and scaring off Hare and the slave traders, the sword that Arren possesses unsheathes, revealing that this is due to its magical nature, and he cuts off Cob's hand, which flies away still holding his staff, rendering him unable to use magic. Cob becomes old due to the loss of the magic cast on himself. Cob, after reattaching his severed hand, captures Therru and flees to the highest tower on the castle, with Arren in hot pursuit. Cornered, Cob strangles Therru to death. However, she does not die, and instead becomes a dragon, thus killing Cob and rescuing Arren from the collapsing tower that Cob destroyed to prevent Arren from advancing.
Therru and Arren land at a field where Therru reforms as a human. Arren tells Therru he will leave for home to repent for his crime, but will come back to see her sometime.
History
This feature filmFeature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
from Studio Ghibli is the first anime film adaptation of any part of the Earthsea series. In the past, many directors, including Hayao Miyazaki, had tried to adapt the Earthsea cycle for film but were disapproved by the author herself.
In 2003, after winning an Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for his film Spirited Away
Spirited Away
is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy-adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a sullen ten-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood and after her parents are transformed into pigs by the witch Yubaba,...
, Hayao Miyazaki received approval but was busy directing Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle (film)
is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli and based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones...
. For Studio Ghibli, his son Gorō Miyazaki, who was working as advisor on the film, was given directing-responsibility for the adaptation.
Voice cast
- Bunta Sugawara (Timothy DaltonTimothy DaltonTimothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
in the English Dub) as Ged/SparrowhawkGed (Earthsea)Ged , is the true name of a fictional character in Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea realm. He is introduced in A Wizard of Earthsea, and plays both main and supporting roles in the subsequent Earthsea novels... - Junichi OkadaJunichi Okadais a member of Japanese boy band V6, which is under the management of Johnny & Associates. He joined Johnny & Associates at the age of 14.- Music career :...
(Matt LevinMatt LevinMatt Levin is an American voice actor.Levin has appeared in supporting roles in Above the Law, Starship Troopers, Zoolander, and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Levin has also appeared in Star Trek: Voyager, in an episode titled "Nemesis"...
in the English Dub) as Prince Arren/LebannenCharacters in EarthseaThis is a list of the names of characters in the stories about the fantasy world of Earthsea, written by Ursula K. Le Guin.-On names and naming:... - Aoi TeshimaAoi Teshimais a Japanese singer and voice actor.-Career:While Aoi Teshima went to C&S music academy in Fukuoka, she began a music career as an amateur in 2003...
(Blaire RestaneoJewel and Blaire RestaneoJewel & Blaire Restaneo are an American acting, songwriting duo, and pop rock band from Houston, Pennsylvania. They have been in films such as The Legend of Sasquatch and have written 8 songs for the film. They have had starring and co-starring roles in many TV shows. In 2008, the duo will have a...
in the English Dub) as Teru/TehanuCharacters in EarthseaThis is a list of the names of characters in the stories about the fantasy world of Earthsea, written by Ursula K. Le Guin.-On names and naming:... - Jun FubukiJun Fubukiis a Japanese actress. She received a Japanese Academy Award Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in Muno no hito, and won at the Hochi Film Awards. This role also won Fubuki the "Best Actress" award at the Yokohama Film Festival...
(Mariska HargitayMariska HargitayMariska Hargitay is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.The daughter of actress...
in the English Dub) as TenarCharacters in EarthseaThis is a list of the names of characters in the stories about the fantasy world of Earthsea, written by Ursula K. Le Guin.-On names and naming:... - Kaoru KobayashiKaoru Kobayashi (actor)is a Japanese actor born in Kyoto. He won the award for best actor at the 30th Yokohama Film Festival and the award for best supporting actor at the 8th Yokohama Film Festival for Sorobanzuku.- Films:Kobayashi has appeared in a vast number of films among them:...
as the King - Yui NatsukawaYui Natsukawais a Japanese entertainer. She was born on June 1, 1968 in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan. She is a left-hander . She was given a Best New Talent award at the 1995 Yokohama Film Festival for her role in Yoru ga mata kuru.-Drama:...
(Susanne Blakeslee in the English Dub) as the Queen - Yūko Tanaka (Willem DafoeWillem DafoeWillem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
in the English Dub) as CobCharacters in EarthseaThis is a list of the names of characters in the stories about the fantasy world of Earthsea, written by Ursula K. Le Guin.-On names and naming:... - Teruyuki Kagawa (Cheech MarinCheech MarinRichard Anthony "Cheech" Marin is an American comedian, actor and writer who gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez on Nash Bridges...
in the English Dub) as Hare - Mitsuko Baisho as a Vendor
- Takashi Naito as Hazia Dealer
Trailer
- The three-minute Japanese trailer was first shown in Japanese cinemas starting Saturday 24 February 2006. It was aired on NTVNippon Televisionis a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
on 23 February 2006 (the day the trailer was completed.) - The trailers were made by Keiichi Itagaki, who had been responsible for trailers for all of the other Ghibli films up until then.
- Theo Le Guin, Ursula K. Le Guin's son, viewed the Japanese trailer and said this of it: "The images are really beautiful. The song too, it's not like something from Hollywood, but felt really like Ghibli."
Studio Ghibli released the first and second trailers on its official web site.
Score
The soundtrack for Tales from Earthsea was composed and managed by Tamiya Terashima and was released by Tokuma Japan Communications and Studio Ghibli Records as a multichannelMultichannel
Multichannel may refer to:*Multichannel audio, i.e.**Stereophonic sound, namely two channel audio**Surround sound, more than two channels though still technically stereo**Ambisonics, a studio or live way of recording with many channels...
hybrid SACD
SACD
SACD, founded as Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques on 7 March 1829, is a French collecting society, undertaking collective rights management for authors...
-CD on 12 July 2006. Its release code is TKGA-503 and ASIN
Asín
Asín is a municipality located in the Cinco Villas comarca of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, located a few kilometers west of Orés. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 106 inhabitants....
is B000FNNOTG. Carlos Núñez
Carlos Núñez
Carlos Núñez is a Galician musician who plays the gaita, the traditional Galician bagpipe.-Life and career:Nuñez was born in 1971 in Vigo, Galicia, Spain. He began playing the bagpipes when he was eight years old. In his early teens, he was invited to play with the Festival Orchestra of the...
was a key collaborator on the soundtrack, contributing his ocarina
Ocarina
The ocarina is an ancient flute-like wind instrument. Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body...
, whistle
Whistle
A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means...
and Galician gaita
Galician gaita
The gaita or gaita de foles is a traditional bagpipe of Galicia, Asturias and northern Portugal.The name gaita is used in Galician and Spanishlanguages as a generic term for "bagpipe"...
(bagpipe) to 11 of the 22 tracks. Newcomer singer, Aoi Teshima
Aoi Teshima
is a Japanese singer and voice actor.-Career:While Aoi Teshima went to C&S music academy in Fukuoka, she began a music career as an amateur in 2003...
, sang in 2 of the tracks. A followup album, "Melodies from Gedo Senki", was released in 17 January 2007 and included unreleased Gedo Senki OST tracks and new tracks by Núñez. Its release code is SICP-1151 and its ASIN is B000HT1ZLW.
Reaction and box office
The film reached No.1 at the Japanese Box Office on its opening week with a gross of over 900 million yen, or 7.7 million USD, pushing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's ChestPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
to second place and became the number one movie in the country for five weeks, until it was pushed out of the top spot when X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,...
was released. The movie went on to be the #4 top grossing movie for the year in Japan.
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
, the author of the Earthsea Series, gave a mixed response to the film in her review on her website. Le Guin commended the visual animation in the film but stated that the plot departed so greatly from her story that she was "watching an entirely different story, confusingly enacted by people with the same names as in my story." She also praised certain depictions of nature in the film, but felt that the production values of the film were not as high as previous works directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and that the film's excitement was focused too much around scenes of violence. Her initial response to Goro Miyazaki was "It is not my book. It is your movie. It is a good movie". However, she stated that the comment disclosed on the movie's public blog did not portray her true feelings about the film's vast departure from original stories; "taking bits and pieces out of context, and replacing the story/ies with an entirely different plot..."
Le Guin's mixed opinion of the film is indicative of the overall reception of the film, particularly in Japan. In Japan, the film found both strong proponents and detractors. Many of the opinions can best be summed up in a response to Le Guin's comments on her website, that the weak points of the film were the result of "when too much responsibility was shouldered by someone not equipped for it".
The critical reception in Japan was also very mixed. By the end of the year of its release, Tales from Earthsea was awarded "Worst Movie" in the Bunshun Raspberry Awards
Bunshun Kiichigo Awards
The Bunshun Kiichigo Awards , or Bunshun Raspberry Awards are Japan's answer to the American Golden Raspberry Awards, awarded to the worst movies in Japan. It was started in 2004 by the Japanese publication company Bungeishunjū, Ltd...
, with director Goro Miyazaki being given the "Worst Director" award.
As of September 2011, Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
' Tomatometer shows a rating of 42%, with an Audience rating of 49%. IMDb also lists the film as having 6.5 stars out of 10, with 6,092 votes.
International releases
Tales from Earthsea was released in a limited theatrical release on August 13, 2010, in North America by Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
. In its American release, the film was rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some violent images, making it the first Disney (either produced or distributed) animated film to receive a PG-13 rating, as well as the fifth film by Walt Disney Pictures to be rated PG-13. It is also the second Studio Ghibli film to receive this rating after Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke
is a 1997 epic Japanese animated historical fantasy feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. is not a name, but a general term in the Japanese language for a spirit or monster...
. The DVD release date was March 8, 2011.
The film was released in selected UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
cinemas
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
on August 3, 2007, in both subtitled and English dubbed versions. The film was not released as widely as previous Ghibli movies, playing to 23 venues across the nation and making an unremarkable £23,300. Reviews were generally mixed. Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
suggested that it "lacks the technical sheen and warm sentimentality of some of Ghibli's earlier films", while the Daily Mirror called it "ploddy, excruciatingly slow" and not in the same league as the work of Hayao Miyazaki. However, Empire magazine
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
said it was "well worth watching" while The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called it "An engaging piece of work"
DVD distributor Optimum Releasing
Optimum Releasing
StudioCanal UK is a film distributor company working in the UK and Ireland. The company releases many films, including foreign language films, anime releases such as Studio Ghibli's films and independent British, Irish and American films in the UK and sometimes Ireland.Optimum was acquired by...
released an English dubbed and subtitled, region 2 DVD for the UK market on January 28, 2008. To mark the release, HMV ran frequent sponsor credits for the DVD, as well as a prize competition, on the AnimeCentral
AnimeCentral
Anime Central was a British television channel owned by CSC Media Group. The channel launched on 13 September 2007. It was first announced on 5 August 2007 though its licence first appeared on the Ofcom website in January...
channel.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Tales from Earthsea premiered in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
on April 15, 2007. The film began a single print tour of major cities on April 25, 2007 and ended up playing at locations in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
over the following months. It was notable that unlike previous Studio Ghibli releases, only a subtitled version was seen in cinemas. A 2 disc DVD was released on September 12, 2007 by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
, this time featuring both the English and Japanese versions.
In Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Tales from Earthsea (Cuentos de Terramar) premiered only in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
in 2 small theaters on December 28, 2007, only in Japanese version with subtitles (An odd theatrical release compared to previous Ghibli movies). A Single DVD and a Special 2 disc DVD were released on March 12, 2008 by Aurum, this time with Spanish track included.
External links
- Gedo Senki at VIFF 2006: a review and interview with Goro Miyazaki
- Tales from Earthsea at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- Gedo Senki information at Nausicaa.netNausicaa.netNausicaa.net is an English-language fan website established in 1996 to contain information discussed on the Miyazaki Mailing List and to be a general resource for information regarding Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli, and related topics...
- Gorō Miyazaki's Director's Blog
- Translation of Gorō Miyazaki's Director's Blog
- Translation of an Interview with producer Toshio Suzuki
- Film synopsis at Ursula K. Le Guin's Web site
- Official Hong Kong movie Web site
- THEM Anime review