Animation has seldom felt so animated and expressive as it does in Princess Kaguya , the tardy movie from Studio Ghibli . Fans of Hayao Miyazaki will find this motion picture delicious , but it ’s unlike any other Ghibli film I ’ve seen . This is something unfeignedly , heartbreakingly special . See it in theaters . You ’ll be glad you did .
Minor pamperer forward …
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya , in select theaters now and more theaters this weekend , is based on the notable Nipponese folk tale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter , which every child in Japan grows up eff some version of . And director Isao Takahata , one of the Ghibli founder , has been trying to make his moving picture rendering of it for 55 yearsand started work on it in earnest 14 eld ago . The result is deeply rooted in Nipponese custom , but also manages to be a universal tarradiddle of fall - of - age and grappling with social expectations .
An old bamboo cutlery finds a tiny miniature baby inside a bamboo stem , and takes her family , decide that she ’s a princess place from Heaven . He and his married woman raise her to adulthood , and she quick becomes a normal - sized human , growing faster than a normal human being . She ’s a delectation to everyone who knows her — but her adoptive founder is shape that she should be recognized as a princess , so he takes her to the capital and sets her up in style , using gold and silk kimono he found inside another bamboo stalk .
There ’s one major reason to go see Princess Kaguya , and to see it on the big screen — this movie ’s artwork is just sensational . For all of its two minute - plus distance , your eye is drawn to gorgeous image after gorgeous prototype . In keeping with its fairytale ethos and its rural setting , there are just incredible view of birds and insects and small creature , which collapse with life and personality with every motion .
A lot of the art in the moving-picture show has a hand - drawn flavor to it , almost like a traditional painting , with heavy brush stroke . This make the artistic production expressive and personal , in a mode that computer animation has a punishing time matching — when Princess Kaguya becomes more wild or upset , the line get large and darker , and at times figures go from being fully drag to being just dark streaks . An expert on both painting and Nipponese animation could plausibly do more to pull apart all the different stylistic crotchet that this film is using to present the emotional journeying of Princess Kaguya , but suffice to say that my jaw maintain flatten at a lot of the knock-down , impressionist frames this flick pack in .
And that ’s the other thing that ’s an accomplishment worth celebrating — this pic packs a muckle of emotional power , and make Princess Kaguya herself into a character with a flock of astuteness and motive . This is something that I gather is miss in the traditional folktale reference stuff , and Takahata has add a lot of ontogeny to the magical princess found in the bamboo stalk , creating an intensely move story in the process .
Part of what ’s great about Princess Kaguya is that its expressive style avail to show how Kaguya adapts to be whoever the citizenry around her want or expect , especially when she ’s very untested . Her whole body language changes , along with her style , when she ’s with her ambitious father versus when she ’s with her rough - and - tumble friends . This is never point out on or signposted , it ’s just shown , effortlessly , through non - verbal cues .
And similarly , as Kaguya grows up and has to deal with uppercase society and fancy party and suer and ever - increase levels of daftness , a lot of the history is told through her consistency language and the changing cast of her face . And nothing is ever kept round-eyed in this pic — even as Kaguya is take away from the mass and thing she grew up with , she still finds joy in some aspects of her novel liveliness in the capital letter . Which only makes her rage and despair , when they come , that much more affecting .
Even if you ’re familiar with the original Nipponese tale , I think you ’ll find some heavy - strike surprises in Takahata ’s retelling of it , especially in the denouement .
And give that “ modernized , updated retellings of classic sprite tales ” is a huge area that the movie industry is attempting to explore right now , Princess Kaguya provides a really terrific template . It ’s venerating towards the rootage material and tote up both unattackable motivations and emotional complexity to its main character — without undersell the plangency of the original folk tale . In fact , some of Takahata ’s additions , like the bamboo tender ’s insistence that they move to the capital and join the noblesse , only make the whole matter feel more fairy story - same .
There ’s also a hint of a romanticism , but it ’s wisely kept to the sidelines , so it adds poignancy rather than providing a sugar - coated distraction .
The other thing I have n’t fully convey about this film is how funny and zany it is — even with a lot of poetic , beautiful scenes of nature and civilization , Takahata see way for some really loopy , goofy set pieces and a lot of charmingly odd second . And true to the Ghibli inheritance , there are a bunch of minor side role who wait on as quirky gracenotes .
All in all , The Tale of Princess Kaguya is n’t just a masterclass in adapting fairytales to twenty-first century motility pictures — it ’s also an incredible employment of artwork , and one of the most alone movies I ’ve seen in years . These gorgeous images will live in your head for 60 minutes afterwards , and you ’ll belike want to watch it several times . But it ’s definitely worth seeing for the first metre in the theater .
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