Tales From Earthsea
By Cory Peynado, Blockbuster.co.uk

Those of you who are familiar with the Earthsea books will know of how intriguing these tales really are. Luckily for those of us that haven’t read or heard about these books this new story is a wonderful fusion of some of the best elements in that series. Taken from a time where Dragons and magic are not just myths and folklore, this epic new tale brings us a new level of adventure and discovery.

One thing I’ve noticed is that films from Studio Ghibli have always been good at finding beauty in the smallest of things. Narratives will regularly involve a young person with a big heart or someone insignificant making big difference. This was shown to us in movies like ‘Spirited away’ or ‘Howls moving castle’.

There is always an underlying sentiment that you wouldn’t be able to envision if it was live action. Directed by first-timer Goro Miyazaki, Tales from Earthsea makes full use of the dreamlike nature of animation and with just the right amount of compassion, it gives us enough likeable characters and enough intrigue right from the start to keep us interested throughout.

We enter the story at a very troubled time. The balance of the world is shifting. Dragons, who normally inhabit the lands in the far west of Earthsea, avoiding contact with humans, have been seen in the lands of men, and this unusual behaviour leads the Archmage, Ged (Dalton), to set out in search of the source of this imbalance that is driving men mad, turning dragons into witless beasts, and causing livestock and crops to sicken and fail.

On his journey he encounters the young Prince Arren (Levin), who has fled his homeland, having committed a murder, pursued by a mysterious shadow. Ged seeks shelter with his old friend Tenar (Hargitay) and her mysterious adopted daughter Therru (Restaneo), and traces the disturbance to a wizard called Cob who, terrified of death, seeks eternal life.

Might sound a little daunting but it is actually very easy watching. I’m quite a zealous anime fan so I enjoyed this on many levels myself but you really don’t need to be a fan to enjoy this. It reminds me of those old Disney classics where the characters and the story took president. Without a doubt, a nice little movie, one to watch on a quiet afternoon.

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