Tales From Earthsea

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Tales From Earthsea

PG-13

Released Aug 13, 2010

1h 55m

Adventure

Fantasy

Anime

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37%

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41 Reviews

46%

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25,000+ Ratings

In the land of Earthsea, a mysterious force threatens to plunge humanity into destruction and chaos. A powerful wizard named Sparrowhawk seeks the source of his world's imbalance, and along the way rescues a runaway prince named Arren. When Sparrowhawk's powers begin to weaken, he and Arren must join forces with a former priestess and her daughter to defeat an evil foe whose quest for immortality will destroy Earthsea.

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Steven D. Greydanus

Decent Films

A flawed but ambitious film, full of potent mythic images — battling dragons; a shadowy doppelganger — but one that fails ultimately to resolve those images in a satisfying way.

Rated: B-

Sep 5, 2010

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Amy Nicholson

Boxoffice Magazine

As dark as The Last Unicorn or The Dark Crystal, though a shade less lyrical.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 18, 2010

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Kirk Honeycutt

The Hollywood Reporter

A workmanlike, humorless cartoon.

Aug 13, 2010

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The painterly backdrops and detailed scenery are the highlights of an otherwise slow-moving narrative told in a staid, formal style deficient of humor or passion for the material.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 31, 2023

Full Review

Carla Monfort

Espinof

The ending reveals a surprise that isn't enough to be satisfying since no one has evolved and it seems this is where the movie should've started. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Jul 24, 2023

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Rachel Wagner

rachelsreviews.net

Think of this as a very lightweight Princess Mononoke.

Rated: B-

Apr 12, 2019

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Julian H

Tales from Earthsea is a film about a boy named Arren going on adventures throughout the vast world made from hundreds of islands. It was a fun movie but I expected better graphics from the anime master’s son Goro Mizayaki. The movie was also extremely boring at times which makes me give this movie a 3.5 out of 5.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/25

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Eliza M

Despite its unpopularity, and the fact it wasn't faithful enough to the books for most people, this has always been a favorite of mine. If you give it a chance, without comparing it to what was expected of it, this seems a pretty well done movie on it's own. The cinematography does well to capture any mood, and the overall lesson–that all life is worth living because we know it won't last–is very inspiring. Just think of it as a separate story from the orginial, something done from scratch, and it really opens your eyes to its unique charm.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/07/25

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Jakob B

A complete failure as an adaptation of the original wizarding world, which featured a way more diverse cast and has a beter resolution to the story. I am convinced this film is worth a watch if you want to see all ghibli films or if you like cool dragons, but if you want a look at the world of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin, this isn't worth anything.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/28/24

Full Review

Audience Member

It's honestly baffling to me how much hate this movie gets, it's so well written. Maybe not like the other movies studio Ghibli has come up with but it's so fascinating and me personally I love dragons. Even if they didn't incorporate them as much as I wanted to see, they were still amazing ly intertwined with the film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/03/24

Full Review

Joshua S

Goro Miyazaki screwed up Studio Ghibli by making this movie. Studio Ghibli has never made a bad movie until Earthsea came out. This has bad directing, bad action sequences, and everything else in this is bad. But I praise this film for its music score and its breathtaking animation.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/29/24

Full Review

Aron S

The best movie ever! The world was so interesting and colorful. The soundtrack is amazing. Arren and the girl were so cute together.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/19/24

Full Review

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Goro Miyazaki

Director

Timothy Dalton

Sparrowhawk

Willem Dafoe

Cob

Mariska Hargitay

Tenar

Cheech Marin

Hare

Matt Levin

Arren

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Synopsis

In the land of Earthsea, a mysterious force threatens to plunge humanity into destruction and chaos. A powerful wizard named Sparrowhawk seeks the source of his world's imbalance, and along the way rescues a runaway prince named Arren. When Sparrowhawk's powers begin to weaken, he and Arren must join forces with a former priestess and her daughter to defeat an evil foe whose quest for immortality will destroy Earthsea.

Director: Goro Miyazaki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki
Screenwriter: Goro Miyazaki, Keiko Niwa
Distributor: Walt Disney
Production Co: Studio Ghibli, Walt Disney Studios
Rating: PG-13 (Some Violent Images)
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Anime
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 13, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 19, 2019
Runtime: 1h 55m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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