I've finally found it... a Studio Ghibli movie I did not like. Let's talk about it.Studio Ghibli had a lean few years following their greatest commercial success, Spirited Away. That film made the equivalent of $300 million and finally broke the studio through to Western mainstream audiences. It is the reason many Ghibli classics finally got released in the West. But the five films they released after that were decent at best. The nadir of this slump was this flick.Up On Poppy Hill- the film that ended the streak of below-standard Ghibli movies- was a period romance. In this film, the company dips its toes into another genre- the big-budget, soulless fantasy Lord of the Rings rip-off genre. Yay! Among the films in this most detestable of genres, this is far from the worst. It looks and sounds gorgeous, and there are some good ideas thrown in here and there. The last five minutes are borderline phenomenal. But as a whole, the film embodies many of the worse elements of the genre: boring storytelling, stale characters, needless babble, overindulgence, and a distinct lack of focus, all of which combine to make a film that is impossible to care about.This is really a shame, as this movie could have been really good. The source material, while not extraordinary, is creative and clever. The world of Earthsea is certainly not as boring as this film made it out to be. Go read the books and see for yourself. And even if the source material were bad, Ghibli and fantasy seem like a can't miss combination. Nausicaa is a great example of Ghibli's love of fantasy. In that film, they set precedents. In this film, they follow precedents. Nearly everything in this film is ripped off from something better- another hallmark of this horrid genre. In the end, it plays like a second-rate Nausicaa ripoff, a second-rate Legend of Zelda ripoff, and a third-rate Lord of the Rings ripoff.It is also far too long. Normally, I wouldn't complain about a long Studio Ghibli movie. If there were a four-hour director's cut of Mononoke or Spirited Away, I would be ecstatic. But there is a reason animated movies are usually shorter than the average blockbuster outside of the fact that they take forever to make as is- the nature of animation makes a 90-minute animated movie feel full and luscious, while a typical 90 minute drama feels claustrophobic and barren. A 120-miunte Ghibli movie like Spirited Away or Mononoke feels like a 3-hour-long live action movie.But length is something you have to earn. A 90 minute movie with characters you hate is annoying, but a three-hour movie with characters you hate in inexcusable. This film is 120 minutes long, and for the reasons I stated earlier, it feels like it's three hours long. I normally hate people who fall asleep in movies, but for this flick, I would encourage it.The characters are painfully cliché. There's the young hero, the evil sorcerer, the hero's mentor, and so on. It feels like these characters were lifted straight from a set of archetypes. The only character who's somewhat interesting is the hero's love interest. While not a great character, she has all the film's interesting scenes, and is easily a standout in this paper-thin cast.I absolutely despise our main protagonist. His struggle does not become apparent until halfway through the film, and it feels like it came out of nowhere, and it doesn't particularly feel like a struggle. This would be acceptable if he were interesting in any way, but he's not. To say he has no character would be kind. I would much rather have Link from Legend of Zelda, a character who literally never speaks, be the main lead here. The guy we got is so angsty and depressing and bland. The movie desperately needs us to care about him, but we don't, not in the slightest. He is honestly one of the worst leads I've ever seen. Nothing about him makes any sort of sense, and everything about him is so clumsily handled, and even if that weren't the case, he's still absolutely awful.If over half this film were cut, nothing would change plotwise. This film has no right to be 120 minutes. It has no right to be 90 minutes for that matter. It should be 70, 80 minutes at most. And if I had to choose which parts to cut out, I'd cut out the parts where the characters talk. The dialogue is horrible. I would honestly enjoy this film better if I watched it in Japanese with no subs. I would rather this film be a travel documentary about this world. The landscape shots are the best things about the flick.To be fair, if I have to spend two hours of my life watching a bad fantasy movie, I'd choose this over pretty much anything else. But I'd rather spend two hours watching a great fantasy movie, which is what this would have been. Goro Miyazaki, the director, would improve, but here, he squanders a potentially enjoyable film into the worst slog in Ghibli history. I weep for what could have been.

When I first heard of this film I didn't know what to expect. I was shocked to find out that there was a Ghibli movie dubbed bad by people. At first I thought there must have been some bias hatred against the movie, but then I remembered that this is a Ghibli picture. Unlike most animation studios, Ghibli usually gets some of the most fair and honest reviews from people and critics alike. So I thought to myself what makes this movie so bad. That's when I came up with the idea to go watch it and see for myself. Dear god were my expectations destroyed. This isn't just a bad film; this is a legit disgrace to the studio's name. Now don't get me wrong, I won't judge a film by its company's reputation. That's just unfair. I understand that tales from earthsea is the directorial debut of Gorō Miyazaki, but that doesn't mean I'm going to excuse all the crap that this flick pulled like a ton of other people have. I also should note that I haven't read the book this is based off of so I'm only going to talk about the film itself. However from what I keep hearing the movie didn't do a good job in respecting the source material.I think the best place to start the review is at the intro. The first 7 minutes are utterly atrocious for what they are. This is mainly due to how the animation is presented. Now before I go on ranting and raving I would like to say that the animation quality is not bad, far from it. It's amazing that the animation looks and feels as well as it does. The animators aren't to blame here the director is. The amount of ambiguousness and rushed pacing makes the intro come off as totally pretentious. It appears that Gorō tried to handle a scene that was beyond his current abilities at the time. Overall that's how the directing of this movie is. There are too many moments that try to feel bigger than they actually are. Thankfully not every scene is this way. At the 23 minute mark there's an impressive sword fight; it's brilliantly choreographed and utilizes the animation better than any other scene in the film. After watching the scene I had suspended my disbelief for the second time on the movie. Never before have I done that with any film. That's when I came up with the theory that Miyazaki must be holding back the good animation for later moments in the movie. That's a common mistake for first time directors. Unfortunately as the movie went on I soon found out that I was dead wrong about this as well. I respect all of the effort the animators put in, but even with all of their hard work the reality is that a good chunk of their effort is wasted to due to lots of the animation being barely utilized. The story was beyond confusing. It had a good amount of plot holes and unexplained story elements. Why are dragons significant? What does mean to have a true name? Why does the girl Therru near the end of the movie turn into a f@#king dragon?! What's with the magic sword deus ex machina? Why does Therru show romantic feelings towards a boy she spent a good amount of the movie hating on? I thought Ghibli was against that stereotype. This movie raises way too many questions than needed and never tries to explain them or any of the interesting mythology of the world around it. It was hard to care about any of the characters because of how absurdly written they were. The only people I liked were Sparrowhawk; the badass wizard, his old friend Tenar, and the highly intimidating yet soft spoken antagonistic wizard Cob. However near the end of the film they ruin all of these characters. They turn the courageous Sparrowhawk into a weak old man. They drained Tenar of all her spunk and passion. But worst of all they turned cob into a pathetic freak of nature. And no I don't think it adds to his character in any way. Gorō decided to make the 3 best characters worthless so I would have no choice but to focus on Arren and Therru during the finale. I don't think a film should force me to focus on people I don't have a connection towards. Instead they should've written their characters interestingly. The music and sound effects are phenomenal, but ultimately aren't too effective in their use. In some scenes the music really adds some life, but in many others it needlessly shows up. The voice work is mediocre at best. Some actors put up some effort while others barely try. But considering what they had to work with I don't blame all of the actors on their performances. How is it in Japanese? To be honest I don't care to watch this movie a third time to find out. Watching it twice to see if there was any re-watch ability was challenging enough. What I'm about to say is going to sound overly harsh, but I promised myself I was going to be blunt in this review. Tales from earthsea the movie is a complete joke. It's one of the worst movies I've ever watched to completion. Don't waste your precious time on it like I and many others did. Do yourself a favor and go watch Howl's moving castle, a good Ghibli adaptation of a book. Animation 6/10 Story 3.6/10 Pacing 4/10 Music and sound effects 6/10 Characters 4/10 Re-watch ability 4/10 Voice acting 5/10 FINAL SCORE 4.7/10 The movie's budget was 22 million dollars

Considering that the majority of reviews for this film have been comparing it to other Studio Ghibli films, this debut from the great Hayao Miyazaki's son Goro is an extremely strong start, and bodes well for his future in film (albeit without the presence of the Studio, now that it no longer exists). The story is a solid one, with a good plot and characters who you feel for throughout the film. The soundtrack on the film is one of the best I have heard from a Studio Ghibli production, and the visuals are extremely rich and vibrant, as illustrated by the frequent landscape shots of sprawling cities and rolling countryside.However, as a 16 year old who has not read the novels this film was based on, I cannot comment on the accuracy of the portrayal, nor if it lived up to the expectations that may have been set. Admittedly, this film is not one with a deep and serious message hidden within it, as is so common with films of its kin by Studio Ghibli; rather, it is a film purely enjoyable for its face value, and one I believe the younger generation will feel has potential re-watch value. Consequently, I would see this film as one recommendable to both those who love Studio Ghibli and those who don't - its absence of a subtle undertone means it is enjoyable without requiring the ability to see nuances that other Miyazaki films possess. Overall, I believe that this (especially for a débutant) is a very good film, one worth the watch for the story itself, as well as the ever-beautiful visuals and musical accompaniments.

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.