 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | OPTIMUM RELEASING (UK) | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 5.1 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 110 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | PG | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 01/28/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 05/14//2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SANDRA SCHOLES |
hip sailing in treacherous waters, ravaged by waves, their crew see one dragon emerge from the clouds to fly about them, then another appears both fight, but there is only one victor. The land of Earthsea has become hit with a plague of fever affecting the cattle and sheep, but no one knows why. News of the warring dragons has spread and fear is in the minds of the people. Also, their prince, Arren is missing. Sparrow Hawk meets a young boy on his journey through the sands, the boy he soon discovers is Arren, who goes with him after all. They find a town bustling with activity, nefarious characters and poor slaves. Arren sees there is something not right about the town and he is not wrong. The Sparrow Hawk has that feeling about the place too, and says it is the work of great evil that has become like a rot over the town. A young girl runs from slave traders who wanted to use her and are met with the prince who sees them off with his then unknown powers in combat. Goro Miyazaki's masterpiece is very different in many ways from the norm of Japanese standard anime movies, in that it had a presence all of its own. The landscapes are breathtaking and show incredible size showing that a tremendous amount of effort had gone into the making of this. Based on the Earthsea saga by best-selling fantasy author, Ursula K. Le Guin's novels, the characters have had an anime touch to them making them visually come to life. Although it is mainly just a movie that is based on the books, not every detail of the characters and original story has been left out, giving it more of a fantasy/anime feel rather than a straightforward fantasy look many will regard as original and detailed once they watch it for themselves. Goro Miyazaki puts his own life experiences into the movies he makes. Director of this, his studio Ghibli debut he has clearly exceeded what many might have thought would be a Disney-esque animation, creating more of an appealing anime in the process. The son of Hayao Miyazaki, director of Princess Mononoke, My Neighbour Tororo and Spirited Away, he has a lot to live up to one might think, but it looks as though Goro has done well considering the criticism he received for his direction of the film. With Tales having a cast of stars doing the voice acting, recognisable ones include Timothy Dalton as Sparrow Hawk, formerly James Bond back in the 80's, Matt Levin as Prince Arren of Starship Troopers and Dodgeball fame, and Willem DaFoe who voices the evil Cob, who also in such great movies as Spider-man 3, and Mr Bean's Holiday.
All have the potential and prove they can play these different roles using their acting talents in a more unconventional way. They give life to the story, yet a Ghibli film is noticed also by its look. The character's faces are simplified and easier to animate while more is put into the backgrounds that appear vast and detailed in contrast. Viewers will enjoy the scale of landscapes, cities, villages, ports and certain characters in this superb animation. It is extremely descriptive and a narrative piece that moves along at a slow, steady pace letting the viewer take in all that they see in it, thus making it memorable to the audience.
EXTRAS:
Making of Tales From Earthsea, Trailers, NTV Special, Behind the Microphone and Trailers for other anime titles.
IN SUMMARY:
A stunning masterpiece - Ghibli's work is instantly recognisable and thoroughly enjoyable. |
