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I've only read one of the Earthsea books, The Tombs of Atuan, when I was nine, and haven't revisited it since. I don't remember very much about it beyond an awareness that the story didn't develop in a way that developed my enthusiasm. I therefore had no expectations of the Studio Ghibli Tales from Earthsea, watched with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
taruithorn last night.
I don't know very much of Japanese animation; unlike the present student generation, I didn't grow up with it, and of the films I've seen the only one which I've found really successful is Spirited Away. Tales from Earthsea's design and story included elements which seemed to me misunderstandings or misrepresentations of originals, from the mishmash of architectural details in the city to the characters, who seemed forced into off-the-peg sub-Joseph Campbell roles. I did like the castle at the end, which seemed to owe something to the present state of Tintagel, with its plunging wooden stairways and areas ready to collapse. The villain's (Lord Cob's) appearance seemed closely based on David Bowie, and certainly androgynous, reminding at least one other of Michael Jackson. Otherwise there seemed little that was greatly distinctive about the film, with the usual magical devices of 'true names' and shapeshifting being deployed without any substantial development.
taruithorn last night.I don't know very much of Japanese animation; unlike the present student generation, I didn't grow up with it, and of the films I've seen the only one which I've found really successful is Spirited Away. Tales from Earthsea's design and story included elements which seemed to me misunderstandings or misrepresentations of originals, from the mishmash of architectural details in the city to the characters, who seemed forced into off-the-peg sub-Joseph Campbell roles. I did like the castle at the end, which seemed to owe something to the present state of Tintagel, with its plunging wooden stairways and areas ready to collapse. The villain's (Lord Cob's) appearance seemed closely based on David Bowie, and certainly androgynous, reminding at least one other of Michael Jackson. Otherwise there seemed little that was greatly distinctive about the film, with the usual magical devices of 'true names' and shapeshifting being deployed without any substantial development.