Le Guin, understandably, was disappointed with how the film squeezed in her themes, saying the messages about “life and death” and the “balance” weren’t earned, coming across as “heavy-handed” and “preachy.” The events of the novels expand over the course of multiple decades, tackling complicated concepts concerning mortality, ambition, and persecution. Pushed to storyboard and produce in a tight timeframe, Miyazaki was tasked with picking and choosing essential elements from four of Le Guin’s epic Earthsea novels to weave into the adapted story. Hayao was against Goro taking on Tales From Earthsea as his first-ever project as director, but nevertheless, the determined newcomer charged forward with plans to complete the project without his father’s support. Unfortunately, Hayao was too focused on Howl’s Moving Castle to pick up another project, so the Earthsea adaptation fell into his son Goro’s hands. Le Guin sold the adaptation rights for Earthsea to him. Shortly after Hayao Miyazaki won Best Animated Feature Oscar for Spirited Away, Ursula K. The wistful song “Teru no Uta” is a lovely melody that delicately conveys young Therru’s emotions and helps her connect to protagonist Arren. Other auxiliary facets of the production like the original musical score are wonderful, bolstering a robust and aesthetic retelling of the adventures in Le Guin’s world. The author even reacted to the gorgeously animated fantastical and pastoral scenes, admitting, “I recognized my Earthsea.” The animation, especially the impressive dragons and stylish character designs, made the novelist's fantasy come alive. Tales From Earthsea, though jumbled, beautifully captures many of the aesthetic and fantastical elements of Ursula K. Yet in spite of these setbacks, the film does have its merits and plenty of promising content worthy of reassessment. 15 years after its disheartening release, these merits shine much brighter. The film is commonly called Studio Ghibli's worst production, as it was squished into a tight deadline and thrown into the hands of an inexperienced director. With a scattered and oftentimes murky plot fueled by unearned and maladroit messages, Tales From Earthsea has many weaknesses which at first seem disappointing and irredeemable.

Tales of the earthsea book