Tales from Earthsea 20th Anniversary - Studio Ghibli Fest 2026
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Synopsis
From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, and the director of From Up on Poppy Hill, comes an animated fantasy epic based on the classic book series by Ursula K. Le Guin As crops dwindle and dragons reappear, mankind stands on the verge of total chaos. Lord Archmage Sparrowhawk, a powerful wizard, and Arren, a troubled young prince, search for the force behind this mysterious imbalance that threatens to destroy the land of Earthsea, in a tale of redemption and self-discovery that will take your breath away. Featuring the voices of Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe, Cheech Marin, and Mariska Hargitay.
Cast
- Jun'ichi Okada
- Aoi Teshima
- Yûko Tanaka
- Teruyuki Kagawa
- Jun Fubuki
- Takashi Naitô
- Yui Natsukawa
- Kaoru Kobayashi
- Bunta Sugawara
- Timothy Dalton
Moviegoers are saying
Studio Ghibli's Tales from Earthsea emerges as the studio's most divisive entry, with audiences praising its stunning visuals while lamenting a story that bites off more than it can chew. Goro Miyazaki's directorial debut struggles under the weight of epic fantasy ambitions, delivering gorgeous animation that can't quite mask weak character development and pacing issues.
Top Mentions
Summary generated from the text of Atom User reviews
Letterboxd User Reviews
3.0
195.6K
49.7K
32.0K
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Worse than I expected tbh. An agonizing failure at worldbuilding with the dullest characters and story to ever be featured in a Ghibli film. Hilariously lifeless direction. Princess Mononoke had more levity than this trash. I wanted it to be over from the 15 minute mark and…
James (Schaffrillas)Jul 25, 2020Remember when we saw two dragons fighting at the start? That was pretty cool...
Mark MarshallFeb 4, 2023this happened to me on skyrim once
˗ˏˋ suspirliam ˊˎ˗ - Jun 21, 2022
The epitome of biting off more than you can chew. Tales From Earthsea is crammed with interesting ideas and characters but never takes the time to explore or develop any of them. Maybe more impressively, for a movie with dragons, it also finds a way to be massively…
Joe AAug 18, 2018i really couldn’t get into this and it makes me so sad because i love studio ghibli so much. also the poster is misleading because i was expecting lots of dragons, but there were not enough dragons
rachOct 8, 2023Too much sad boi, mysterious, and heroic moments. Should have added more witchcraft, wizardry, and dragonussy. But same with other Ghibli films, I got hooked with the animation style. Also, I was amazed by Theru’s singing voice.
Lexi ❦︎ ︎ ︎ - Jan 10, 2021
Loosely based off "The Farthest Shore", the third book of Earthsea novel series by Ursula K. Le Guin, Tales from Earthsea is based in a mythical land, where a man and a young boy investigate a series of unusual occurrences in a deteriorating kingdom. Similarly, to Ocean…
George ClarkMay 4, 2021Gorō Miyazaki, I am so sorry but yikes. I have never, ever rated a Ghibli film so low. Epic in its subject matter, it’s quite clear that Tales From Earthsea took too large of a bite to chew when it comes to its plot. As a result, there’s bizarrely so much going on without…
claira curtisDec 13, 2016CW: brief race reference, gender/trans stuff, sexuality To me, dragons have always been the pinnacle of wonder. Their usage in high fantasy as avatars of greed or symbols of noble power might seem at first to be anathema to a collectivist, but to the queer trans girl,…
Sally Jane Black
Queue Community Reviews
77%
Community 3,462
Top Reviews
- Bella Kamiya likedTales from Earthsea
Beautiful movie with a message just as good, but the plot was unclear and hard to follow. I found myself dozing off at the serene landscape as well as the absence of substance to the story 😭Despite this, I did enjoy the movie. Recommend if you can enjoy slow paced movies.
Ava is "meh" onTales from EarthseaThis entire movie I was waiting for it to end
TheHypnoGuy is "meh" onTales from EarthseaSo perfectly meh
- Jackson is "meh" onTales from Earthsea
5/10 Interesting film but the plot was a bit confusing and there’s some parts that still don’t make sense. Even though it was because of the “darkness” I feel like it doesn’t make sense why Arren killed his father and then why Therru ended up being a dragon. Also not a big fan of how Lord Cob…
Adiee is "meh" onTales from EarthseaReally gorgeous movie. It’s one of the prettiest ghibli movies I’ve seen. Honestly I liked this movie, but the pacing is insanely bad. It needed to be split into several movies tbh because the book series is so long. It just doesn’t work to cram all that material into one movie.
Nix likedTales from EarthseaDone by the son of Miyazaki if I remember correctly as well as inspired by a book. Nice drawings and world but misses something compared to the other Ghibli movies… the story feels unfinished, the stakes are unclear etc + a bit scary for young children (the sorceress at the end)
- Bennie is "meh" onTales from Earthsea
Like all Ghibli films, it’s beautiful in its imagery, but for a film that should have a lot of dragons, there’s not much. The characters are seemingly bland and overall I just needed more from this tale. It does manage to pick up in the end where the villain shines through. 5
Bart van Tilburg likedTales from EarthseaGreat Anime Movie, Balance is one of the most important things in the world, one half cant exist without the other. there is no light without dark no happyness without sadness no life without death everything is supposed to be in balance or people and the world will suffer.
user420366496 likedTales from Earthseaas a huge fan of studio Ghibli, i have thought i would enjoy this more. however, i felt it didn’t have the magic as the studio’s other films. perhaps that was the more western art influences, but i also found the story to be hard to follow. i might need another rewatch
Atom Users Reviews
Reviews
- SNStephen Nordin
Good film. Despite the long run time, it felt like the pacing was off and there needed to be more world building and exposition regarding the universe. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience.
JYJennifer Yochum
Metacritic
USER SCORE (101)
Generally favorable reviews based on 101 Reviews
An artistically arresting yet narratively lame and strangely unfocused cartoon aimed at older children and young adults.
Kirk Honeycutt
The Hollywood Reporter
It also features deaths by strangulation and immolation as well as a nasty bit with a flying severed limb.Kids may be less put off by all that, though, than by the film's uninspired hand-drawn animation, visual flatness and elongated running time.
Gary Goldstein
Los Angeles Times
Feels a little like a science-fiction Sunday school pageant.
Stephen Holden
The New York Times
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tales from Earthsea 20th Anniversary - Studio Ghibli Fest 2026 (2026) family-friendly?
The movie has been rated as PG-13, meaning that some material may be considered inappropriate for children under 13.
How long is Tales from Earthsea 20th Anniversary - Studio Ghibli Fest 2026 (2026)?
The movie is 2hr long.
What's Tales from Earthsea 20th Anniversary - Studio Ghibli Fest 2026 (2026) about?
From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, and the director of From Up on Poppy Hill, comes an animated fantasy epic based on the classic book series by Ursula K. Le Guin As crops dwindle and dragons reappear, mankind stands on the verge of total chaos. Lord Archmage Sparrowhawk, a powerful wizard, and Arren, a troubled young prince, search for the force behind this mysterious imbalance that threatens to destroy the land of Earthsea, in a tale of redemption and self-discovery that will take your breath away. Featuring the voices of Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe, Cheech Marin, and Mariska Hargitay.
Who's the cast of Tales from Earthsea 20th Anniversary - Studio Ghibli Fest 2026 (2026)?
- Jun'ichi Okada as Arren
- Aoi Teshima as Theru
- Yûko Tanaka as Cob
- Teruyuki Kagawa as Hare
- Jun Fubuki as Tenar
- Takashi Naitô as Hazia Dealer
- Yui Natsukawa as Queen
- Kaoru Kobayashi as King
- Bunta Sugawara as Haitaka (Gedo)
- Timothy Dalton
Who's the director behind Tales from Earthsea 20th Anniversary - Studio Ghibli Fest 2026 (2026)?
Gorô Miyazaki directed Tales from Earthsea 20th Anniversary - Studio Ghibli Fest 2026 (2026).
Who produced Tales from Earthsea 20th Anniversary - Studio Ghibli Fest 2026 (2026)?
Stephen Alpert, Javier Ponton and Toshio Suzuki produced Tales from Earthsea 20th Anniversary - Studio Ghibli Fest 2026 (2026).
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