What's the airspeed velocity of an unladen Sparrowhawk?
URGA MOTW
Tales from Earthsea
This film is a short-run Japanime film at Palace, based on Ursula K LeGuin's Earthsea books. It's been too many years since I actually read the books, so I don't remember any of the details except that they're about a Wizard called Sparrowhawk/Ged/a whole bunch of other names.
The film adaption is from Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and a whole bunch of other great films) but is this time directed by Goro Miyazaki, the son of famed and loved director Hayao.
Plotwise, things are fairly standard and simple (good vs evil), although a lot of the background of the world is significantly confusing even with bouts of exposition. We follow young Prince Arren, who's killed his father the King (for no apparent reason, and it's never satisfactorily explained) and so he's on the run. He meets up with Sparrowhawk (later revealed to be already the Archmage of Earthsea) and they travel through pestilence-ravaged countrysides with failing crops and ill livestock, to a large city. In the city, Arren has a run in with some slave-takers led by Usagi (aka Hare) who attempt to capture a young girl, Therru. Arren goes into some sort of frenzy and beats the slavetakers back using his always-sheathed magical sword. Later on, the slave takers catch up with Arren and capture him, and after an on-the-road rescue by Sparrowhawk, the two of them journey to the nearby farm of Tenar, and old friend/lover of Sparrowhawk. Turns out Therru is actually Tenar's ward, so she's there too.
Usagi and the slave takers work for the evil Wizard Cob (who looks and sounds female, but apparently is quite mysoginistic and male... this was very confusing! Why not use a male voice actor?) who is very interested in having a confrontation with Sparrowhawk.
So then there's the big kidnap/rescue subplot, some mystical stuff happening with Arren and Therru and the eventual defeat of the bad guys.
So... storywise, things were very mediocre, and although it wasn't too hard to follow nor too simple, it just seemed rather clumsily constructed. reverancepavane tells me the film isn't really based on any of LeGuin's stories but a hodgepodge of all of them, which probably explains why the plot doesn't appear to be very good. The characters and character designs are also middle-of-the-road, and the only things that get close to the visual wonderment of many of Hayao Miyazaki's films are the dragons and our evil Wizard Cob, even though (s)he isn't nearly as creepy/scary as, say, the bloated Noface in Spirited Away.
The visual quality of the animation also seemed rather lacklustre - but then again, perhaps the print of the film being run has had its colours washed out through many screenings - it was certainly full of specks of dust, and none of the colours seemed at all vibrant. The animation style is traditional 2D cell animation, and doesn't appear to have anything special in the artwork that distinguishes it from films of 10 or 20 years ago.
Music wasn't really a stand out, but there were a few nice songs in the middle & end of the film (sung by Therru, and over the closing credits).
As a film, it was okay, but nothing really spectactular. Considering how wonderful (i.e. full of wonder) Ghibli films usually are, Tales from Earthsea is a bit of a disappointment.
6/10
Tales from Earthsea
This film is a short-run Japanime film at Palace, based on Ursula K LeGuin's Earthsea books. It's been too many years since I actually read the books, so I don't remember any of the details except that they're about a Wizard called Sparrowhawk/Ged/a whole bunch of other names.
The film adaption is from Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and a whole bunch of other great films) but is this time directed by Goro Miyazaki, the son of famed and loved director Hayao.
Plotwise, things are fairly standard and simple (good vs evil), although a lot of the background of the world is significantly confusing even with bouts of exposition. We follow young Prince Arren, who's killed his father the King (for no apparent reason, and it's never satisfactorily explained) and so he's on the run. He meets up with Sparrowhawk (later revealed to be already the Archmage of Earthsea) and they travel through pestilence-ravaged countrysides with failing crops and ill livestock, to a large city. In the city, Arren has a run in with some slave-takers led by Usagi (aka Hare) who attempt to capture a young girl, Therru. Arren goes into some sort of frenzy and beats the slavetakers back using his always-sheathed magical sword. Later on, the slave takers catch up with Arren and capture him, and after an on-the-road rescue by Sparrowhawk, the two of them journey to the nearby farm of Tenar, and old friend/lover of Sparrowhawk. Turns out Therru is actually Tenar's ward, so she's there too.
Usagi and the slave takers work for the evil Wizard Cob (who looks and sounds female, but apparently is quite mysoginistic and male... this was very confusing! Why not use a male voice actor?) who is very interested in having a confrontation with Sparrowhawk.
So then there's the big kidnap/rescue subplot, some mystical stuff happening with Arren and Therru and the eventual defeat of the bad guys.
So... storywise, things were very mediocre, and although it wasn't too hard to follow nor too simple, it just seemed rather clumsily constructed. reverancepavane tells me the film isn't really based on any of LeGuin's stories but a hodgepodge of all of them, which probably explains why the plot doesn't appear to be very good. The characters and character designs are also middle-of-the-road, and the only things that get close to the visual wonderment of many of Hayao Miyazaki's films are the dragons and our evil Wizard Cob, even though (s)he isn't nearly as creepy/scary as, say, the bloated Noface in Spirited Away.
The visual quality of the animation also seemed rather lacklustre - but then again, perhaps the print of the film being run has had its colours washed out through many screenings - it was certainly full of specks of dust, and none of the colours seemed at all vibrant. The animation style is traditional 2D cell animation, and doesn't appear to have anything special in the artwork that distinguishes it from films of 10 or 20 years ago.
Music wasn't really a stand out, but there were a few nice songs in the middle & end of the film (sung by Therru, and over the closing credits).
As a film, it was okay, but nothing really spectactular. Considering how wonderful (i.e. full of wonder) Ghibli films usually are, Tales from Earthsea is a bit of a disappointment.
6/10