Chloë Grace Moretz
Darren Criss
James Caan
Mary Steenburgen
Lucy Liu

Isao Takahata
Riko Sakaguchi

Mike Jones (English version)

137 mins.
Anime, Drama, Fantasy
October 17, 2014

Rated PG for thematic elements, some violent action and partial nudity. (MPAA)

“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya,” based on the 10th Century Japanese folktale “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,” is an animated film from Studio Ghibli. Like all films from that studio, it definitely has a Japanese sensibility. It tells its story delicately. The animation looks like a mix of watercolor and drawing with colored pencils on paper. At times, they rely more on watercolor than on penciling, and vice versa. The use of pencils really stand out during a rainstorm, when the princess runs away, and when one of her suitors attempts to slay a dragon at sea. There’s life and power to those scenes that contrast well with the rest of the film. (I wish that there were even more moments of contrast.)

That kind of drawing could easily look amateurish, but you can tell that this was done by master animators. It’s light and fragile. This is very different from Hayao Miyazaki’s more robust style. (Miyazaki is one of Studio Ghibli’s founders and its most successful director to date. The director of this film, Isao Takahata, is another of its founders. He directed “Grave of the Fireflies,” as well. I’m more of a Miyazaki guy, but I appreciate Takahata’s work, too.)

One day in a bamboo grove, the titular princess, wrapped in a bamboo shoot, is found by an old bamboo cutter. He’s astonished and brings her home with him. His wife’s astonished, as well. The “Princess,” as he calls her, grows much faster than normal children; she even causes the cutter’s wife to produce milk, when necessary. The princess befriends the local children, but the cutter determines that she should be raised in a mansion in the capital city – not in the mountains surrounded by peasants. She needs to be much closer to nobility. He believes this because of the gold and fine fabric that he finds in the bamboo field after finding the princess. He thinks that the gods have spoken. His wife isn’t so sure.

The story proceeds from there. It’s an allegory about childhood and parenthood – the openness of the former and the concerns of the latter. Should parents determine their children’s future? Or should children be allowed to follow their own impulses? And how will children, despite the wishes of their parents, be received by society?

“The Tale of Princess Kaguya” won’t appeal to all children, though. It takes its time and relies on subtlety. (It also clocks in at over 2 hours.) But it captures the spirit of a spring morning. I felt like I was floating while watching it. While I wasn’t fully swept away (the English translation is stilted at times, and the runtime is too long), this film has enough substance and artistry to make it worth watching.

Verdict: Good

About: (Source: facebook.com/ThePrincessKaguya)

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo, a tiny girl grows into an exquisite young lady, raised by an old bamboo cutter and his wife. From the countryside to the grand capital city, even unseen she enthralls all who encounter her, including five noble suitors. Ultimately she must face her fate, punishment for her crime.

Based on the classic Japanese folktale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA is the newest film from Studio Ghibli and the strikingly beautiful culmination of decades of contemplation by its director, Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata.