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Boasting narrative depth, frank honesty, and exquisite visual beauty, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is a modern animated treasure with timeless appeal.
All Critics (86) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (86) | Rotten (0)
Lush, hand-painted images offer plentiful consolation, but its beauty forms a gilded cage: until the undeniably moving final movements, it just feels several shades too constrained to fully honour its heroine's restless, questing spirit. Mar 19, 2015 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
Lush, hand-painted images offer plentiful consolation, but its beauty forms a gilded cage: until the undeniably moving final movements, it just feels several shades too constrained to fully honour its heroine's restless, questing spirit.
Mike McCahill
Plays out as a wistful, slow-burning romance, underscored with a streak of social satire and animated in exquisitely subtle pastels and watercolours. Mar 17, 2015 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Plays out as a wistful, slow-burning romance, underscored with a streak of social satire and animated in exquisitely subtle pastels and watercolours.
Alex Dudok de Wit
It's the beautiful and breathtaking animation that gives The Tale of the Princess Kaguya a luster that is both simple and sophisticated. Dec 4, 2014 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
It's the beautiful and breathtaking animation that gives The Tale of the Princess Kaguya a luster that is both simple and sophisticated.
Mary Houlihan
One can only hope Ghibli maintains a creative standard as high as his. Dec 4, 2014 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…
One can only hope Ghibli maintains a creative standard as high as his.
J. R. Jones
What makes "Princess Kaguya" stick in emotional terms? Its depiction of an extraordinary girl, learning for herself that a life without real joy and spontaneity is only a shadow of a life. Dec 4, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
What makes "Princess Kaguya" stick in emotional terms? Its depiction of an extraordinary girl, learning for herself that a life without real joy and spontaneity is only a shadow of a life.
Michael Phillips
This delicate, hand-drawn marvel is lyrical and heartbreaking in ways that most live-action movies never approach. Nov 24, 2014 | Rating: A | Full Review…
This delicate, hand-drawn marvel is lyrical and heartbreaking in ways that most live-action movies never approach.
Peter Rainer
The material might be fantastical, yet due to the universal themes of womanhood and true happiness, Princess Kaguya's story is exceptionally grounded. Oct 10, 2018 | Full Review…
The material might be fantastical, yet due to the universal themes of womanhood and true happiness, Princess Kaguya's story is exceptionally grounded.
Nguyen Le
A great, grounded realist with a firm eye but a light touch, Takahata's leisurely swan song has a rare serenity and grace. Nov 16, 2017 | Full Review…
A great, grounded realist with a firm eye but a light touch, Takahata's leisurely swan song has a rare serenity and grace.
Daniel Kasman
Takahata brings his own feminist spin to Kaguya's coming of age, showing how this child of nature is repeatedly kept from happiness by the forces of patriarchy. Jan 26, 2017 | Full Review…
Takahata brings his own feminist spin to Kaguya's coming of age, showing how this child of nature is repeatedly kept from happiness by the forces of patriarchy.
Anton Bitel
In an era where anime films seem to blend into each other aesthetically, Takahata's impressions seems marvelously alive - its modesty in images makes them feel as if they're being created before our very eyes. Jun 6, 2016 | Rating: B- | Full Review…
In an era where anime films seem to blend into each other aesthetically, Takahata's impressions seems marvelously alive - its modesty in images makes them feel as if they're being created before our very eyes.
Peter Labuza
A mezmerizing display of impresionist animation. [Full review in Spanish] Mar 18, 2016 | Full Review…
A mezmerizing display of impresionist animation. [Full review in Spanish]
Jordi Costa
There exists a compelling experiential satisfaction of the closure of a mythical character journey full of ebbs and flows, complexities and emotional introspection, all expressed fully in the compassionate drawings of director Isao Takahata. Feb 29, 2016 | Full Review…
There exists a compelling experiential satisfaction of the closure of a mythical character journey full of ebbs and flows, complexities and emotional introspection, all expressed fully in the compassionate drawings of director Isao Takahata.
Emine Yildirim
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is an absolute stunning piece of art. Let's just take a moment to appreciate how beautiful this film is, it is without a doubt a work of art. Every paint stroke, every detail and every frame by frame animation is perfection. I've never seen such exquisite visionary qualities in a film before. Every frame is colourful, bright and absolutely delightful to admire. Not to mention several scenes have multiple layers of animation embedded within them, masterful. I'm just...in awe of how amazing the animation was, I really am. Trust it to be Studio Ghibli, they really are masters of the animation genre. This film is a re-telling of the famous Japanese folk tale "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" where said bamboo cutter comes across a glowing stalk which is revealed to contain a princess. They raise her as she grows rapidly and, with the help of a divine presence, believe she should be living in the lifestyle of nobility. There is so much to analyse, so much to take in that I just don't have enough words to detail every theme that is explored. The story is one of happiness. The contrasting lifestyles of rural village people to rich noblemen. But is anyone actually truly happy? Princess Kaguya wishes to live back in the mountains whereas her old friends are jealous of her new luxurious residence. Within this personal conflict is the never ending battle of seeking true happiness which conclusively she does not find (much like everyone else in life). The bamboo cutter gave the princess a life in his own image, a life that he wished he desired all along. While he may have been happy, his daughter was not. He was blinded by the materialistic aspirations that he yearned for. The representation of the traditional Japanese culture was wonderful and really captured the authenticity of the folk tale. I do have to warn you though, don't let the cutesy animation fool you. I do not recommend this for children. It's a long runtime, there are heavy themes and I don't think they will fully appreciate it.
Super Reviewer
"The Tale of the Princess Kaguya" is a lovely story about a found princess that grows quickly, deals with life's hardships, downfalls, and the realistically drawn imagery really makes you buy into this story. Well-written, brilliantly-animated (as always by Studio Ghibli), it is definitely worth it's Academy Awards recognition. It may not be the best film to come from this studio, but ever since the mastermind of the studio passed, it will be a challenge to live up to. I really enjoyed watching this film, and by the end I was actually tearing up, because the maturity level of the characters and symbolism that was being shown, really stood out. "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya" is the definition of an achievement in my opinion and deserves to be seen by many around the world. This is a very original film, however, it is a tad overlong and slowly paced out, making for a less pleasant experience. It felt like it was trying to take it's beautiful story and stretch it to become a Blockbuster film, which felt very out of left field for the studio. In the end, this is a really good film.
That the title of the original folktale places its importance on the bamboo cutter is symptomatic of those ungrateful times for women like our tragic heroine, and this is a gorgeous-looking, sad story whose only flaw is a frustrating suggestion that its most beautiful scene could be a dream.
The chronicle is a legend full of fanciful flourishes that myths are known to have. Princess Kaguya is a mysterious protagonist compete with a secret back-story like the heroine of any good yarn. However she isn't a particularly warm person. When her childhood friend Sutemaru is beaten in front of her, she does nothing to help him. She gives would-be suitors false hope by demanding they fetch items to court her favor. The kicker is she has no interest in any of these men to begin with, so she requests items that are impossible to get. One even dies in the process. At least Kaguya gets depressed about it. At first she seems to praise the simple value of her previous country life over her more exalted existence in the big city, but then the celestial ending kind of throws that idea out the window. Fairy tales always have a moral and I'm sure this one is no exception. I just have no idea what that is given the bizarre finale. I still enjoyed The Tale of The Princess Kaguya. It's different and that's saying something in today's cookie cutter world. fastfilmreviews.com
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