The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

IF IT DOESN'T WIN EVERY AWARD FOR ANIMATION THIS YEAR I WILL SCREAM FOR 8 CENTURIES AND YOU WILL ALL SUFFER. ALL OF YOU. 8 CENTURIES OF SCREAMING TO COME IF SOME DERIVATIVE AMERICAN ANIMATED MOVIE BEATS THIS GLORIOUSLY BITTERSWEET TALE WITH INCREDIBLY MATURE WRITING AND ANIMATION. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

This was such a lovely film. It's a nice story, feeling familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. The animation is absolutely beautiful, feeling like a Japanese watercolour painting come to life. It was truly a wonder to watch. It's not as sad as the director's earlier film, Grave of the Fireflies (1988), but it's certainly emotional, in a good way. I still prefer Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli films, but this was a wonderful experience.

Like the best Studio Ghibli films, it has the ability to transport you into another time and place. This adaptation of the classic Japanese folk tale about a bamboo cutter who discovers a tiny princess and raises her as his daughter employs minimalistic animation that is simple but stunningly beautiful and suites the storybook feel of the movie. Also the most emotional Ghibli film that I've seen, with many laugh out loud moments and also extremely sad at times.

I like the drawings; they're very pretty in fact, with the best sequence being when Kaguya flees from the palace and they change style into furious outlines. But as a whole this is ponderous, obvious, sentimental, and endless. Extra points for anybody who can make sense of the Buddha angle.

I have nothing but respect for the unique artistry and subtle ambition of this film... But I'm not sure how much I actually LIKED it. The courting at the mansion just seemed to go on and on and on, and the tone just very muted the whole way through. There were standout moments of good old Ghibli greatness throughout though.