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Tales from Earthsea poster

Movies that feel likeTales from Earthsea (2006)

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.

If you loved Tales from Earthsea, the closest films we have are Porco Rosso (1992), Ne Zha (2019) and The Painting (2011). All three share Tales from Earthsea's whimsical and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Big Fish & Begonia (2016).

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If Tales from Earthsea hit the spot, these will too

Porco Rosso poster
Porco Rosso
1992 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 96%★ 7.7animation · adventure · fantasyMax

One thread runs through both: anime

In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.

Ne Zha poster
Ne Zha
2019 · dir. Jiao Zi
🍅 88%★ 7.3animation · fantasy · adventurePrime VideoPeacock

Both are working the same pair: magic, dragon

A young boy is born as the reincarnation of a demonic power, into a society that hates and fears him. Destined by prophecy to bring destruction to the world, Nezha must choose between good and evil to see if he can change his fate.

The Painting poster
The Painting
2011 · dir. Jean-François Laguionie
🍅 82%★ 7.3fantasy · animation

Whimsical and dreamlike in the same breath

The difference: Easier on the scale than Tales from Earthsea

Three characters living in an unfinished painting venture out into the real world in search of their creator to convince him to finish his work.

Big Fish & Begonia poster
Big Fish & Begonia
2016 · dir. Liang Xuan
🍅 94%★ 7animation · adventure · fantasyRent or buy

Common ground: adult animation

Beyond the human realm, there is a magical race of beings who control the tides and the changing of the seasons. One of these beings, a young girl named Chun, seeks something more—she wants to experience the human world! At sixteen, she finally gets her chance and transforms into a dolphin in order to explore the world that has her fascinated. But she soon discovers that it's a dangerous place and nearly gets killed in a vortex. Luckily, her life is spared when a young boy sacrifices himself to save her. Moved by his kindness and courage, she uses magic to bring him back to life only to learn that this power comes at a serious price. On a new adventure, she’ll have to make her own sacrifices in order to protect his soul until it is ready to return to the human world.

Checkered Ninja poster
Checkered Ninja
2018 · dir. Thorbjørn Christoffersen
★ 7.1animation · comedy · adventurePrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: adult animation

The difference: Leans harder into comedy than Tales from Earthsea does

A possessed Ninja doll teams up with a teenage boy to avenge the murder of a poor child factory worker.

Warriors of the Wind poster
Warriors of the Wind
1984 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 87%★ 8adventure · animation · fantasyMax

Both are built on the same subject: anime

The difference: 22 years apart, and the 1980s show

After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

Ronal the Barbarian poster
Ronal the Barbarian
2011 · dir. Philip Einstein Lipski
★ 6.5animation · adventure · fantasy

Animation with a pulse of scale, in both cases

Ronal is a young barbarian with low self-esteem, the polar opposite of all the muscular barbarians in his village. He's a real wuss. However, as fate would have it, responsibility for the tribe's survival falls on Ronal's scrawny shoulders, when the evil Lord Volcazar raids the village and abducts every living barbarian with the exception of Ronal, who is forced to go on a perilous quest to save his enslaved clan and thwart Volcazar’s plot to rule the world.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore poster
🍅 46%★ 6.2fantasy · adventureMaxPeacock

Common ground in both: fantasy world and wizard

Professor Albus Dumbledore knows the powerful, dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts magizoologist Newt Scamander to lead an intrepid team of wizards and witches. They soon encounter an array of old and new beasts as they clash with Grindelwald's growing legion of followers.

Seventh Son poster
Seventh Son
2014 · dir. Sergei Bodrov
🍅 12%★ 5.5adventure · fantasy

The same preoccupation in both: magic

John Gregory, who is a seventh son of a seventh son and also the local spook, has protected the country from witches, boggarts, ghouls and all manner of things that go bump in the night. However John is not young anymore, and has been seeking an apprentice to carry on his trade. Most have failed to survive. The last hope is a young farmer's son named Thomas Ward.

Princess Mononoke poster
Princess Mononoke
1997 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 93%★ 8.3adventure · fantasy · animationMax

Whimsical fantasy in both cases

Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

Upon the Magic Roads poster
Upon the Magic Roads
2021 · dir. Oleg Pogodin
★ 5.7adventure · fantasy

Adventure built on dream logic, twice over

Romantic John the Fool and his friend Foal set out on a series of unpredictable adventures in different magical worlds. The two buddies will have to outsmart an evil tyrant king, catch the firebird, and find John’s true love.

Arthur and the Invisibles poster
Arthur and the Invisibles
2006 · dir. Luc Besson
🍅 21%★ 6adventure · fantasy · animation

Both are built on the same subject: fantasy world

Ten-year-old Arthur, in a bid to save his grandfather's house from being demolished, goes looking for some much-fabled hidden treasure in the land of the Minimoys, tiny people living in harmony with nature.

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The best-reviewed films that share Tales from Earthsea’s defining feeling.