'Tales from Earthsea' review

"Tales from Earthsea" (Credit: Disney)

There’s trouble in the mythical land of Earthsea. Young Prince Arren (Matt Levin) wanders the desert alone after the mysterious murder of his father. Arren encounters powerful wizard Sparrowhawk (Timothy Dalton), who brings him to the farm of trusted friend Tenar (Mariska Hargitay) and her ward Therru (Blaire Restaneo). They live peacefully until evil wizard Cob (Willem Dafoe) discovers where they are and lures them to his castle.

The buzz: Based on the Earthsea fantasy novels of Ursula K. Le Guin and directed by Goro Miyazaki, the son of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki (“Spirited Away,” “Ponyo”), “Earthsea” has to hope Miyazaki fans don’t give a damn about it’s bad reputation. It opened in Japan a little over four years ago, to respectable box office but mixed-to-scathing reviews. Le Guin herself shared pointed criticisms on her website and the movie picked up worst movie and director honors in Japan’s version of the Razzies. Consider the extremely limited U.S. theatrical release a testament to Disney’s current devotion to Miyazaki.

The verdict: If only the bad buzz surrounding “Earthsea” was unwarranted. It’s a long way from “worst” anything, but the movie otherwise lives down to its not-so-great expectations. Plodding and nonsensical, with little of the wit, imagination and visual expressiveness that mark Miyazaki Sr.’s work, “Earthsea” can only hope to appeal to a cult within a cult—the hardcore anime fans determined to seek out anything connected to Miyazaki or his Studio Ghibli. What they’ll find is a competently drawn but dull film more interested in farm work than fantasy, overburdened by painfully earnest dialogue and convoluted mythology. At least the English-language dubbing is top notch, in keeping with Disney/Ghibli standards. Dafoe emerges the film’s most valuable player, his distinct voice adding an extra layer of eerie menace to an already creepy but underused Bowie-esque androgynous villain.

Did you know? You’ve got to feel for the younger Miyazaki. Reluctant to follow in his father’s footsteps to begin with, he reportedly endured a rift with his father during production of “Earthsea” because he felt his son wasn’t yet ready to direct.

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