The first movie review of the animated version of Ursula K. Le Guin's stories The Farthest Shore and Tehanu (and, if I recall correctly, other of her later Earthsea stories) is out!
As a major fan of both Studio Ghibli (the Japanese movie studio headed by Hayao Miyazaki, my favorite animation director of all time) and Ursula K. Le Guin, I was eagerly awaiting some solid news.
The movie does not seem to be as properly done as I (and I'm sure Ms. Le Guin) would have wanted. For one, the characters are not represented properly as far as skin color. This was a big issue with the Wizard of Earthsea movie that came out a few years ago. Le Guin is very realistic about the range of ethnic appearances in her fantasy and science fiction and sensitive to implicit and explicit racism. Also, the storyline is pretty much devoid of humor. Even in her serious works, Le Guin usually has touches of humor, and as the reviewer points out, so is Hayao Miyazaki.
But it is Goro Miyazaki's first movie (his father Hayao didn't think he could make anything decent but has called it "an honest work"). Besides, it's a Studio Ghibli movie (which means "top-drawer animation") based on excellent fantasy, and the overall review is fairly good. This is at the least a "rent it when it's out on DVD" movie, from what I can tell.
Addendum: just found Ursula K. Le Guin's response to the movie.
In other book-related news, I just found a copy of Anne of Green Gables for an adult patron who had never read it and is going to visit the author's home. I love helping people get books I've loved myself!
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