Tales From Earthsea, Goro Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli

Tales From Earthsea is a Japanese animation directed by Goro Miyazaki. It was released in 2006. It is based on the Earthsea series of books by Ursula K Leguin. The characters and plot come from the first four books, “A Wizard of Earthsea”, “The Tombs of Atuan”, “The Furthest Shore” and “Tehanu”. Hayao Miyazaki had previously tried to adapt the books but had been turned down by the auther. At that stage she had not seen any previous works by Studio Ghibli. After receiving an Oscar for “Spirited Away” Le Guin gave her approval, but at the time Hayao Miyazaki was working on “Howl’s Moving Castle”. Hayao’s son, Goro was given the film as his directorial debut. Reportedly Hayao was not happy with the decision but later acknowledged his son’s work at the preview.

I can understand Hayao’s interest in the books. He has always been interested in strong female characters in his animations and Le Guin has a feminist slant to her books. Thus, although this is a great animation, I can’t help wondering how it would’ve turned out if Hayao had directed it. There is more in the books about the difference in power between wizards and witches (male and female power). However it does get into the erosion of the balance of power in Earthsea. The animation opens with a ship caught in storm out at sea. The ship’s weatherworker is distressed at his loss of control over the waves. There are two dragons fighting above. This is unprecedented and the scene is full of foreboding of its implication.

It comes with the usual visual flair that you would expect from a Studio Ghibli film and they have created their own story from the books. Well worth a watch. The only thing I would add is, please read the books. They are brilliant!