Tales from Earthsea
Once Man and Dragon were one. Man chose Land and Sea, Dragon chose Wind and Fire.
As crops dwindle and dragons reappear, mankind stands on the verge of total chaos. Lord Archmage Sparrowhawk, a powerful wizard, and Arren, a troubled young prince, search for the force behind this mysterious imbalance that threatens to destroy the land of Earthsea.
Directed by Goro Miyazaki · Animation · Fantasy · Adventure · 116 min · 2006
Trailer
Director
Goro Miyazaki
Studio
Studio Ghibli / Hakuhodo DY Media Partners
Release
2006-07-29
Runtime
116 min
Genres
Animation, Fantasy, Adventure
Full Plot
Something bizarre has come over the land. The kingdom is deteriorating. People are beginning to act strange... What's even more strange is that people are beginning to see dragons, which shouldn't enter the world of humans. Due to all these bizarre events, Ged, a wandering wizard, is investigating the cause. During his journey, he meets Prince Arren, a young distraught teenage boy. While Arren may look like a shy young teen, he has a severe dark side, which grants him strength, hatred, ruthlessness and has no mercy, especially when it comes to protecting Teru. For the witch Kumo this is a perfect opportunity. She can use the boy's "fears" against the very one who would help him, Ged.
Cast & Characters
Arren (voice)
Junichi Okada
Theru (voice)
Aoi Teshima
Haitaka (voice)
Bunta Sugawara
Cob (voice)
Yuko Tanaka
Hare (voice)
Teruyuki Kagawa
Tenar (voice)
Jun Fubuki
Ged/Sparrowhawk, a famous, powerful, wise, and noble sorcerer of Earthsea, known as the Archmage, who is trying to solve the mystery on why the world's Balance is collapsing. He acts as a father-figure to Arren.
Bunta Sugawara (Timothy Dalton in the English dub)
Prince Arren/Lebannen, a seventeen-year-old boy who is followed by a shadow due to his fear of death and the darkness in his heart caused by the collapse of the Balance of the world itself.
Junichi Okada (Matt Levin in the English dub)
Therru/Tehanu, a seventeen-year old burn victim who is around the same age as Prince Arren. She was abused and abandoned by her birth parents until Tenar took her in. She originally thought of Arren as immoral and a monster after he saved her from Hare, because he seemed to lack any respect for life, but developed a close friendship with him when she saw his genuine compassion.
Aoi Teshima (Blaire Restaneo in the English dub)
Tenar, Sparrowhawk's old friend. When she and Sparrowhawk were young, she was a priestess at the Tombs of Atuan until Sparrowhawk guided her to freedom. She raised Therru on her own and accepted Arren and Sparrowhawk into her and Therru's home with open arms.
Jun Fubuki (Mariska Hargitay in the English dub)
Cob, a maniacal androgynous warlock. Years ago, Sparrowhawk defeated him before he could attempt to control the dead and was, therefore, banished to the Wastelands. Eventually, he escaped and upset the world's Balance in order to try and to gain eternal life.
Yuko Tanaka (Willem Dafoe in the English dub)
Hare, Cob's head slaver. Despite being somewhat bumbling and cowardly, he is very loyal to Cob and takes his slaver job seriously.
Teruyuki Kagawa (Cheech Marin in the English dub)
the King of Enlad and Arren's father. He cares for his kingdom and its well-being.
Kaoru Kobayashi (Brian George in the English dub)
the Queen of Enlad and Arren's mother. She is very strict and believes that Arren is old enough to take care of himself.
Yui Natsukawa (Susanne Blakeslee in the English dub)
Did You Know?
Made on an estimated budget of $22.0M, Tales from Earthsea has grossed $68.6M worldwide — about 3.1x its budget.
Source: TMDb API · verified 2026-08-02
Tales from Earthsea, from Studio Ghibli, is the first anime film adaptation of any part of the Earthsea series by Ursula K.
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-03
1 at the Japanese box office on its opening week, with a gross of over 900 million yen, or 7.
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-03
Critical Assessment
Tales from Earthsea holds 6.5/10 on TMDb (1512 votes). IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes/Metacritic scores will populate automatically via the site's daily refresh once available.
Not enough independent critic/audience score breakdown available.
Ratings as of August 3, 2026
Where to Watch
United States
United Kingdom
India
Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDb. Availability changes often — confirm on the provider before watching.
AI Verdict
AI-generatedBased on TMDb's aggregated score (6.5/10 on TMDb (1512 votes)), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tales from Earthsea's IMDb rating?+
Tales from Earthsea has a 6.3/10 rating on IMDb from 48,018 votes.
What is Tales from Earthsea's Metacritic score?+
Tales from Earthsea has a Metascore of 47/100 on Metacritic.
Is Tales from Earthsea good? What are critics saying?+
Tales from Earthsea holds 6.5/10 on TMDb (1512 votes). IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes/Metacritic scores will populate automatically via the site's daily refresh once available.
How long is Tales from Earthsea?+
Tales from Earthsea has a runtime of 116 min.
Who directed Tales from Earthsea?+
Tales from Earthsea was directed by Goro Miyazaki.
Where can I watch Tales from Earthsea?+
Tales from Earthsea is available to stream, rent, or buy on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
Fan & Critic Buzz
The public reaction to "Tales from Earthsea" is varied but generally positive, with praise for the animation, locations, and world-building. Some reviewers express disappointment with the pacing and lack of action scenes, while others enjoy the film's unique story and characters. One reviewer specifically states that they would watch the movie again despite not loving it upon initial release.
Viewer Reviews (TMDb)
Graphics and animation are fine. However, for me, the story feels rushed. The relationship between Ged and Arren is way to short and Arren easily trusted Ged when he was saved. Locations are few. The Kingdom, Hort Town, the farm and Cobs Castle only. There is no action packed sce…
jigzz · 7/10
From the trailer's comments
They will never make me hate this movie.
@dancd3544 · 35 likesSaw this movie in theaters yesterday and kept waiting for it to get as bad as ratings say, and it never did. It’s literally in the top 10 of Ghibli’s entire filmography for me.
@theaviator1152 · 6 likesIt may not be Ghibli's best, but no one could ever make me hate this. I would go see it, but no nearby theaters are playing it...
@SpongicX · 77 likesI went into this movie with low expectations, but I ended up really enjoying it a lot. I saw the Japanese version in theaters. It was one of the only Ghibli films I had not seen yet
@AndrewAJT · 11 likesdont care what anyone says, this is my favourite movie from ghibli. the other ones arent as favourable for me as this one
@pearlescentis · 14 likesThis film is good, the world building, soundtrack and VA are all great!
@salvatoree1483 · 7 likesseverely underrated film, thoroughly enjoyed this one, it’s worth a rewatch!
@gannocanno · 10 likesHayao Miyazaki may not like his Son's movie... but I love this film so much. All respect to Hayao Miyazaki still tho. The Therru's song is particularly captivating.
@JustCassually · 13 likes
