Studio Ghibli Countdown: ‘The Tale of Princess Kaguya’ 

Isao Takahata has never been a man who could easily be put into a box. While Miyazaki has made many, many succesful movies, he does tend to stay safely in his wheelhouse, both in design and thematic aspects. Takahata, however, always seems to be changing what he does in order to better accomodate whatever story has captured his imagination at the time. From the hyper-realistic

, Takahata and his creative process always kept his fans guessing. This is no more apparent than in his last feature film,

is an adaptation of one of the most famous Japanese fairy tales, called The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter in Japanese. The story and the movie follows the life of Kaguya, from when she was ‘born’ inside of a bamboo stalk to when she…. ‘dies’. The movie follows the plot of the original fairy tail quite faithfully, although it does take a moment or two take a flight of fancy and explore the magnificent visuals of the world Takahata created.

As with most fairy tales, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter was created as a cautionary warning against greed and selfishness, a problem that Takahata has express discontent against in his past movies as well. But, even more than that, this movie shows the importance of family and how life comes around full circle. Although not born to them, Kaguya loves her family very much, and even when they make decisions that she may not agree with (i.e. making her get married), she goes along with it, so that they can try and be happy together. Does it work out in the end? For those who haven’t seen this movie yet, I implore you to, as I bet you won’t see the ending coming. In the end, it really is a simple story, but it works and it compels you to see it to the end.

Honestly, the real treat of this movie is the visuals. I can say with no reservations that the animation and art quality of

is so incredibly high and top notch that I can fail to think of another animated movie that comes close to matching its beauty and splendour. As someone who lives in Japan and studies Japanese history, it is incredibly satisfying to see what is basically a Japanese painting come to life. Watching this film for the first time, there were many instances where I had to pick my jaw up off the floor because I was so overwhelmed by the gorgeousness of this film. It is yet another masterpiece of animation from Studio Ghibli and yet another firm reminder of why traditionally drawn animation remains #1 in my heart.

Musically, well, what can I say, it’s Joe Hisaishi, the man who has worked on the majority of Sutdio Ghibli movies. The film is pitch perfect, with joyful melodies ringing loudly when Kaguya is a child and playing in nature, and haunting serenades as we see her grow up, face her fate, and realize how her life on earth will end. The music is great and fitting to the film, although there really weren’t any pieces that I would be able to pick as new, instant classics like some of the melodies from

In the end, I don’t know if there could have been a better way for Takahata to end his honoured and lustrous career. This film is not the most thematically complex or evolved, but it is a gorgeous movie that oozes creativity and beauty. It is a long one, but you remain invested the entire time as you follow the hand of a legendary auteur. Mr. Takahata, thank you for your hard work, passion, and all the joy you have shared. For

I’ve been wanting to watch this movie since it came out. I’m somewhat familiar with The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, but I don’t really have a good reason as to why I haven’t watched this yet. Good review, I’m definitely going to check this out soon

This movie is a lot to take in and has a slow pace but boy do I love it. It’s probably the best combination of animation and music I’ve ever seen next to Fantasia

Of all of Takahata-san’s films, this one ranks as my personal favorite (with POM POKO coming at a close second), on account of its amazingly nuanced and complex characters, a magical musical score, and perhaps the most beautiful art direction of any animated feature since POCAHONTAS.

On another note, this film served as my introduction to the folktale of “Kaguya-hime no Monogatari”- I later heard it alluded to in the 1989 Sesame Street special “Big Bird in Japan.”

Still gotta see this one!! Heard a lot of great things here and hope to see it soon!! :DDDDD

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Studio Ghibli Countdown: ‘The Tale of Princess Kaguya’