Loosely based on Ursula K. Le Guin�s Earthsea series of books, Goro�s script (also his first) strains under the weight of an incoherent plot and characters wrought with motivational inconsistencies. The tale is set in the land of Earthsea, where an upset in the �balance� between worlds is foretold by the unexpected appearance of dragons. The wizard known as Sparrowhawk (voiced by Bunta Sugawara on the original Japanese soundtrack and by Timothy Dalton in the English dub) takes the troubled Prince Arren (Junichi Okada/Matt Levin) under his wing following the latter�s senseless act of patricide. The two take refuge at the farm of Tenar (Jun Fubiki/Mariska Hargitay), where Therru (Aoi Teshima/Blaire Restaneo), a girl with a mysterious past, also lives. Meanwhile, waiting on the sidelines to take advantage of the situation is the androgynous Lord Cob (Y�ko Tanaka/Willem Dafoe). Praying on the dark spirits that haunt the prince, Cob enlists Arren to defeat his longtime nemesis Sparrowhawk, who stands in the way of his plans for world domination� or something like that. Frankly, the story is so confusing, it�s hard to tell exactly what is going on.

The script�s shortcomings aren�t served well by Goro�s inexperienced direction either. The pacing is often glacial, and the whole film suffers from a lack of humor, present in even the most serious of Hayao�s films. The animation, mostly hand-drawn with a few sequences using CGI, is up to par with previous Studio Ghibli releases. However, without the spark of wonder prevalent throughout his father�s works, the son�s efforts remain cold and confounding.

Curiously, Tales from Earthsea is only receiving a DVD release. Bonus features include a brief �making of� feature titled �Origins of Earthsea� (wherein the director is conspicuously absent), the interactive �World of Ghibli� (with previews of such Miyazaki classics as My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki�s Delivery Service) and a Tales from Earthsea trivia challenge.

• The Red Planet is getting more specific: Mars Needs Moms! In theaters March 11.
• Rapunzel lets down her hair in the animated hit Tangled, on Disney DVD and Blu-ray March 29.
• Two Pixar classics, The Incredibles and Cars, also make their Disney Blu-ray debuts (April 12).
• High School Musical�s resident diva breaks out on her own in Sharpay�s Fabulous Adventure (April 19, Disney DVD and Blu-ray).