xoxoxo e: catching up with ... tales from earthsea

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

catching up with ... tales from earthsea

Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki was busy working on his film Howl's Moving Castle, so couldn't helm Tales from Earthsea, but he must have paid more than a few visits to the studio, as his hand is all over this lovely little anime from 2006. Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki, stepped in for his father to direct the film, a loose adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea novels. The team at Studio Ghibli delivered the gorgeous painted backgrounds and compelling characters that viewers have come to expect from them. I recently saw the English-voiced version, and even with a pretty standard good vs. evil plot, it was still a treat.

Arren befriends a dragon

Good wizard Sparrowhawk

The movie begins with two dragons, black and white and beautifully rendered, fighting each other over the sea. One kills the other — a bad omen — and the news travels quickly to the King of Enlad, who is then killed by his son, Prince Arren (Matt Levin). Arren is wracked with guilt, and seems haunted by a shadow of himself. He meets a great wizard, Sparrowhawk (Timothy Dalton), a girl, Therru (Blaire Restaneo), and a woman, Tenar (Mariska Hargitay). Together they must try and prevent the evil wizard Cob (Willem Dafoe), who is obsessed with discovering the secret of eternal life. And Arren must decide whether to run from, or face up to, his crime.

Dalton and Defoe are especially good in their voicing of their characters, two wizards in combat, each with a very different interpretation of the eternal battle of life over death. Themes of love and conquering death make for a more adult and sometimes somber story, with some fairly graphic violence at the end of the film, as compared to other Studio Ghibli offerings like My Neighbor Totoro and The Cat Returns. But Hayao Miyazaki, who worked on the story for his son's film, has always added a touch of melancholy to his characters.

Arren has a dark side

The early Bowie-esque Cob

There are images that just take your breath away —

Anything featuring the dragons

Our first look at Cob in his medieval fortress

An abandoned villa where Arren first meets Therru

The vistas of the seaside town Hort Town

Arren listening to Therru sing a song of loss and mourning

Wolves advancing to attack Arren in the desert.

Tales from Earthsea is a wonderful animated film, full of color and texture, but you should probably tuck in the kiddies and settle back and enjoy this one for yourself.