TALES FROM EARTHSEA
Release date: March 8, 2011

The first thing I feel obligated to say is that this film is PG-13. There’s great variety in the films of Studio Ghibli, and that includes the intended audience, so be advised if you have children that there is some graphic violence in this film including blood and killing.

Set in a mythical world, Earthsea is filled with magic and bewitchment, but where crops and dwindling, dragons have reappeared and humanity is giving way to chaos. “Tales From Earthsea” tells of a troubled young prince Arren and master wizard Lord Archmage Sparrowhawk, as they search for the force behind a mysterious imbalance in the land of Earthsea; crops are dwindling, dragons have reappeared, and humanity is giving way to chaos.

One aspect of this traditionally hand-drawn animated film that particularly struck me are the gorgeous backgrounds. There are so many works of art in the beauty of the settings.

“Tales From Earthsea” is a bit light on the BONUS FEATURES, which includes:

ORIGINS OF EARTHSEA (4:05) primarily features producer Toshio Suzuki, who discusses the history of how “Earthsea” went from book to animated film, with some additional thoughts from critic and animation historian Charles Solomon.

ENTER THE LANDS gives you the chance to explore “Tales From Earthsea” and some of Miyazaki’s other films with various clips, narrations and other multimedia. There’s also a “Tales From Earthsea” Trivia Challenge, with questions about the story and the history of the film.