The first feature directed by Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki, is based on the fantasy book series by Ursula K. Le Guin. The film is set in a medieval world of castles and dragons, a world that has been thrown into chaos by an imbalance of magical forces and is being overtaken by a dark sorcerer on a quest to attain immortality. Meanwhile, troubled young Prince Arren is pursued by demons of his own, until he falls in with the master wizard Sparrowhawk and young Therru -- another in a long line of strong-willed Miyazaki female protagonists -- and together they set out to defeat the sorcerer and restore balance to Earthsea. Featuring voices of Timothy Dalton, Mariska Hargitay, and Willem Dafoe as the demonic Cob, a goth villain of indeterminate gender, who comes across as the evil lovechild of Morticia and Stardust-era Bowie.