The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya (2013)

Did anybody watch the Oscars? I actually sat down to watch it but got up halfway through because it was so boring. I wasn’t thrilled about any of the nominations, the winners were predictable, and even the red carpet gowns weren’t that exciting. It seems the Oscars just get duller and duller every year.

Anyway, that prelude is just to bring me to this movie I’m reviewing – Studio Ghibli’s “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya”, which in my opinion, should have won the Best Animated Feature category. I knew it wouldn’t though (Big Hero 6 is awesome, but if you’re judging on artistic values… well, look at these screencaps and decide for yourself).

Based on the Japanese fairy tale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, “Princess Kaguya” tells the story of a baby found in a bamboo stalk by a childless bamboo cutter, and raised by him and his wife into a beautiful young woman. Her adoptive father, convinced that she is a princess sent from Heaven, takes her away from their idyllic country life to the capital. Here she captures the eyes of noblemen who wish to marry her, but her heart may belong somewhere else, other than Earth.

Here’s the thing about “Princess Kaguya”: the plot is definitely not as tight as your typical Hollywood/Disney princess movie. Sometimes I think that works in the movie’s favor; sometimes I find myself wishing it could have been more polished. However, I didn’t wish that too often while watching the movie, because the animation is so beautiful (every single frame is a painting, it’s hard to pick just a few to show in this post!) and you’re so drawn into the emotions of the story, that it doesn’t matter.

A warning, though: the story is really sad (it is, after all, made by the same director of Grave of the Fireflies), so don’t hope for an uplifting ending or anything like that. Just emerge yourself in those gorgeous images and enjoy.