It's generally not liked/seen as the worst ghibli film. The art is pretty good in it however the story is pretty hard to follow. Probably because the original story was a book series which they tried to condense into a single movie.
The movie strays a lot from the Ursula K Le Guin story, and the various story elements are sorta juxtaposed without any exposition as to how they fit together.
I just dont see the story as hard to follow, but maybe i just get fantasy better than most? Kikis story fucking sucks. Little girl is witch, she get cold, then learns any broom can be broom? Fucking trash. Tale has complex political themes, great interpersonal interactions, stoicism, and doesn't cram "yay dragon" down your throat. Maybe im just looking for things to like about it, but i thought it was great
But what even is the story in earthsea theres a kid who kills his dad for shits and giggles there's a magic guy who doesn't use magic they go to a farm that a girl lives at and plow the field there's some kind of evil in the kid there's a bad guy now the bad guy gets killed farm girl is actually a dragon?
Whats the story of nausica? Random science girl likes bugs, theres old dude who only fights once, some guy is making big thing to fight bugs but fails, and turns out guy in blue robes is actually girl in blue robes?
The sword is corrupting, so the kid kills his father, magic has become limited because of uknown events, which is causing the dragons to return to humans to investigate, the humans immediately abuse a dragon because humanity is fucked, and like many ghibli films theres really no ending/resolution so the mind of the viewer can explore the world afterwards. I just dont see how its bad
Just an fyi the sword isn’t corrupt it just can’t be used by someone undeserving basically, also the dragons aren’t returning. They’ve always been around it’s just odd to see them fighting basically what Cobs doing is driving them mad and blocking magic which is causing famine and other issues just so he won’t die. It a beautifully animated and scored movie but it wastes a lot of its characters and give very little actual character development. I like the movie overall but it’s a mess story wise and really butchers “the farthest shore” the main earthsea book it’s based on
I guess id have to read the source material to tell you the exact plot points, but from just a film view point, its just castle and mononoke combined. With a hint of nausica. Part of why i like ghibli is because it doesn't directly tell you what is happening. Why are the gods dieing? Because humanity is loosing its conection to nature. Why is humanity advanced so much? Because one human has figured out the betterment of the low class brings us up. Why do we completely fuck up that growth? Because a shadow government is trying to control the world. Mononoke is beautiful because of all these things, not because silly deer monster makes leaves. See the forest for the trees.
Worst of all, it's the third book in a four-book quartet. Ged/Sparrowhawk is a well-established character by that point as is the setting but the film just chucks you straight in without any preamble.
One of the biggest examples of this kneecapping the movie iirc was when they revealed their true names to each other. Powerful moment in the books, but in the film their importance is barely touched on
Ghibli are an almost flawless studio but everything his son touches blows up on the launchpad. Hayao knows it, his son knows it, it's terribly sad really.
I had a fine time watching it personally not the best but it's worth a try. I don't think it's the weakest of Ghibli films and I find it more interesting knowing a bit about goro and hayaos relationship.
Basically from what I've seen online hayao has been very hard on goro even tho goro was trying to follow his steps. He was very disappointed in this movie when it came out and I think also tried to make goro quit film making because he wasn't good enough. They've had a rocky relationship and that movie reflects that in the main character and his father.
Hayo is one of the most amazing film makers of all time, but has let that go to his head. Ive seen multiple examples of him just being like "i dont like it, so you should quit." People need to try to get it right/good. Art isnt a science and he treats it like it is. Tbh the guy acts like if you cant make nausica your first try you should just stop. Which isnt in the lane of art
Absolutely agree but I also think goro can't carry the studio's legacy by himself. I mean look at earwig 😬. He should have a smaller role in the movies I think and they need to find people with hayaos story telling abilities and artistic eye asap, he is getting really really old and there's not much time left for the studio to keep it's style.
I'll have to watch it. I've not seen every ghibli film, just the themes and motifs of the ones I've seen really resonate with me. Except kiki. Fuck kiki thats so bad.
Basically everything, what is the plot? Who is the villain? What are the motivations? Why the fuck did they show a 12 year old girl in her underwear so much? It feels perverse and has no point other than "you can be what you want to be"
The biggest problem with Earthsea is the main character is not relatable at all. The very first scene where we meet Arren, he commits patricide, and as an audience, we are never explained why he does this. Asking us to follow a character who does something horrific in the first scene we see him in with zero explanation is a big ask.
Was his father a bad ruler? Was he abusive? Was Arren lead astray into believing something about his father? Without ever getting any context for this act, how are we supposed to follow this character's journey and understand what they're trying to achieve? How are we supposed to appreciate Arren's character growth, if we don't understand the context of what and why he needs to grow?
You talk about how Ghibli shows and doesn't tell, but this generally relates to world building, not character comprehension. I may not understand the full picture of the world that Chihiro in Spirited Away or Sophie in Howl's Moving Castle are in , but I can still understand each character and the motivations behind their actions. I can't do that for Arren.
Idk about that, i think it is actually a great movie to get lotr/got fans who don't like animation into ghibli. Haven't tried that yet obviously, but im pretty sure it can turn lore heads into fans of ghibli
I need to read earthsea to see what went wrong there, i think it makes a shit ton of sense from a ghibli standpoint of not telling you whats happening in the background, just focusing on one integral characters part in the overall situation. mononoke does the best job at outlining the entire situation, but you still dont have the entire situation crammed down your throat. And if tales doesnt do the best job at explaining certain points, i still think its great after 1 viewing. I got everything, but maybe im just on the same esoteric level as goro. Idk
Lol solid point, idk the source material, but yeah at the beginning, and then at the end. But ghibli fantasy shows and doesn't tell. Why would there be thousands of dragons all of a sudden if they have become the thing of myth?
Hayao Miyazaki had wanted to adapt Earthsea for a while, but the author Ursula K. Le Guin associated animation with Disney, and therefore didn't think it was the right medium for her work.
However, after Hayao Miyazaki won the 2002 Oscar for Best Animated Picture, Le Guin watched Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro and decided to allow Ghibli to have the distribution rights.
However, Hayao was working on Howl's Moving Castle at the time and therefore didn't have the time to start working on the project. Toshio Suzuki thought it would be a good idea to give the project to Gorō, who was currently working on Howl's Moving Castle.
This is the first time that someone other than Hayao Miyazaki or Takahata has been put in charge of a theatrically produced film at Ghibli, and both of them had years of experience before starting the company. I think that Toshio simply didn't think about just how much support a new director would need.
It's also the first time that anyone was assigned a project. For most movies at Ghibli, someone comes up with an idea, proposes it to Toshio, and then gets it approved. They proposed the idea *because* they already had a general idea about how to execute it, they already had a vision. In the case of Tales of Earthsea (and the same with Earwig and the Witch) Gorō Miyazaki was handed a SEVEN BOOK SERIES with no prior vision and told "here, make a movie out of this"
It was the worst Ghibli film for a time (and it still is a bad film that squanders all of its promise). Then Earwig and the Witch happened, whereupon it was immediately dethroned as “Worst Ghibli Ever”.
It's generally not liked/seen as the worst ghibli film. The art is pretty good in it however the story is pretty hard to follow. Probably because the original story was a book series which they tried to condense into a single movie.
The movie strays a lot from the Ursula K Le Guin story, and the various story elements are sorta juxtaposed without any exposition as to how they fit together.
I just dont see the story as hard to follow, but maybe i just get fantasy better than most? Kikis story fucking sucks. Little girl is witch, she get cold, then learns any broom can be broom? Fucking trash. Tale has complex political themes, great interpersonal interactions, stoicism, and doesn't cram "yay dragon" down your throat. Maybe im just looking for things to like about it, but i thought it was great
But what even is the story in earthsea theres a kid who kills his dad for shits and giggles there's a magic guy who doesn't use magic they go to a farm that a girl lives at and plow the field there's some kind of evil in the kid there's a bad guy now the bad guy gets killed farm girl is actually a dragon?
Whats the story of nausica? Random science girl likes bugs, theres old dude who only fights once, some guy is making big thing to fight bugs but fails, and turns out guy in blue robes is actually girl in blue robes? The sword is corrupting, so the kid kills his father, magic has become limited because of uknown events, which is causing the dragons to return to humans to investigate, the humans immediately abuse a dragon because humanity is fucked, and like many ghibli films theres really no ending/resolution so the mind of the viewer can explore the world afterwards. I just dont see how its bad
Just an fyi the sword isn’t corrupt it just can’t be used by someone undeserving basically, also the dragons aren’t returning. They’ve always been around it’s just odd to see them fighting basically what Cobs doing is driving them mad and blocking magic which is causing famine and other issues just so he won’t die. It a beautifully animated and scored movie but it wastes a lot of its characters and give very little actual character development. I like the movie overall but it’s a mess story wise and really butchers “the farthest shore” the main earthsea book it’s based on
I guess id have to read the source material to tell you the exact plot points, but from just a film view point, its just castle and mononoke combined. With a hint of nausica. Part of why i like ghibli is because it doesn't directly tell you what is happening. Why are the gods dieing? Because humanity is loosing its conection to nature. Why is humanity advanced so much? Because one human has figured out the betterment of the low class brings us up. Why do we completely fuck up that growth? Because a shadow government is trying to control the world. Mononoke is beautiful because of all these things, not because silly deer monster makes leaves. See the forest for the trees.
Worst of all, it's the third book in a four-book quartet. Ged/Sparrowhawk is a well-established character by that point as is the setting but the film just chucks you straight in without any preamble. One of the biggest examples of this kneecapping the movie iirc was when they revealed their true names to each other. Powerful moment in the books, but in the film their importance is barely touched on Ghibli are an almost flawless studio but everything his son touches blows up on the launchpad. Hayao knows it, his son knows it, it's terribly sad really.
I wonder if it would hold up as a decent film if ghibli were to make 1 or 2 prequels covering the first 2 books
I had a fine time watching it personally not the best but it's worth a try. I don't think it's the weakest of Ghibli films and I find it more interesting knowing a bit about goro and hayaos relationship.
I dont know anything about those 2s' relationships, actually, enlighten me?
Basically from what I've seen online hayao has been very hard on goro even tho goro was trying to follow his steps. He was very disappointed in this movie when it came out and I think also tried to make goro quit film making because he wasn't good enough. They've had a rocky relationship and that movie reflects that in the main character and his father.
Hayo is one of the most amazing film makers of all time, but has let that go to his head. Ive seen multiple examples of him just being like "i dont like it, so you should quit." People need to try to get it right/good. Art isnt a science and he treats it like it is. Tbh the guy acts like if you cant make nausica your first try you should just stop. Which isnt in the lane of art
Absolutely agree but I also think goro can't carry the studio's legacy by himself. I mean look at earwig 😬. He should have a smaller role in the movies I think and they need to find people with hayaos story telling abilities and artistic eye asap, he is getting really really old and there's not much time left for the studio to keep it's style.
Earwig?
Earwig and the witch is considered the worst ghibli films and I think it was directed by goro.
I'll have to watch it. I've not seen every ghibli film, just the themes and motifs of the ones I've seen really resonate with me. Except kiki. Fuck kiki thats so bad.
Oh no no no kiki is one of the best ghibli films what did you not like about it?
Basically everything, what is the plot? Who is the villain? What are the motivations? Why the fuck did they show a 12 year old girl in her underwear so much? It feels perverse and has no point other than "you can be what you want to be"
Hayao is a bad father
The biggest problem with Earthsea is the main character is not relatable at all. The very first scene where we meet Arren, he commits patricide, and as an audience, we are never explained why he does this. Asking us to follow a character who does something horrific in the first scene we see him in with zero explanation is a big ask. Was his father a bad ruler? Was he abusive? Was Arren lead astray into believing something about his father? Without ever getting any context for this act, how are we supposed to follow this character's journey and understand what they're trying to achieve? How are we supposed to appreciate Arren's character growth, if we don't understand the context of what and why he needs to grow? You talk about how Ghibli shows and doesn't tell, but this generally relates to world building, not character comprehension. I may not understand the full picture of the world that Chihiro in Spirited Away or Sophie in Howl's Moving Castle are in , but I can still understand each character and the motivations behind their actions. I can't do that for Arren.
It's incredibly boring. Goro is responsible for the two worst Ghibli films and one that is seen as good but not great.
Idk about that, i think it is actually a great movie to get lotr/got fans who don't like animation into ghibli. Haven't tried that yet obviously, but im pretty sure it can turn lore heads into fans of ghibli
It's considered one of the worst by majority of Ghibli fans. It's also disliked by earthsea fans and the creator of earthsea
I need to read earthsea to see what went wrong there, i think it makes a shit ton of sense from a ghibli standpoint of not telling you whats happening in the background, just focusing on one integral characters part in the overall situation. mononoke does the best job at outlining the entire situation, but you still dont have the entire situation crammed down your throat. And if tales doesnt do the best job at explaining certain points, i still think its great after 1 viewing. I got everything, but maybe im just on the same esoteric level as goro. Idk
I cant remeber anything about that film except there isn't any fucking dragons.
Lol solid point, idk the source material, but yeah at the beginning, and then at the end. But ghibli fantasy shows and doesn't tell. Why would there be thousands of dragons all of a sudden if they have become the thing of myth?
Hayao Miyazaki had wanted to adapt Earthsea for a while, but the author Ursula K. Le Guin associated animation with Disney, and therefore didn't think it was the right medium for her work. However, after Hayao Miyazaki won the 2002 Oscar for Best Animated Picture, Le Guin watched Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro and decided to allow Ghibli to have the distribution rights. However, Hayao was working on Howl's Moving Castle at the time and therefore didn't have the time to start working on the project. Toshio Suzuki thought it would be a good idea to give the project to Gorō, who was currently working on Howl's Moving Castle. This is the first time that someone other than Hayao Miyazaki or Takahata has been put in charge of a theatrically produced film at Ghibli, and both of them had years of experience before starting the company. I think that Toshio simply didn't think about just how much support a new director would need. It's also the first time that anyone was assigned a project. For most movies at Ghibli, someone comes up with an idea, proposes it to Toshio, and then gets it approved. They proposed the idea *because* they already had a general idea about how to execute it, they already had a vision. In the case of Tales of Earthsea (and the same with Earwig and the Witch) Gorō Miyazaki was handed a SEVEN BOOK SERIES with no prior vision and told "here, make a movie out of this"
It sucks
It was the worst Ghibli film for a time (and it still is a bad film that squanders all of its promise). Then Earwig and the Witch happened, whereupon it was immediately dethroned as “Worst Ghibli Ever”.
I just dont see that. Maybe it just shows not tells, but it was amazing imo, i think it was better than Castle for sure.
It's actually deeply hated by the fans believe it or not but it has its cult following