Сказание о принцессе Кагуя (2013) Online

I've already watched this film 3 times! I was deeply moved and couldn't stop crying every time.

I believe that "Princess Kaguya" is the best Ghibli film in the past 10 years because of the beautiful hand-drawn animation and touching story.

Japanese audience and critics are also very positive for this film, compared to other Ghilbi films.

Hayao Miyazaki is a genius but his recent films are always controversial since "Haul's Moving Castle".

One of the reason is that he relies on his imagination and makes light of a script. That's why quite a few people can't fully understand his recent films and sometimes blame them. ("The Wind Rises" was a tragedy in this meaning.)

Isao Takahata, the director of "Princess Kaguya", is a very good director known for "The Grave of Firefly" but not so active since "My neighbor the Yamada".

His philosophy is very different from that of Hayao Miyazaki. Isao Takahata thinks the scenario is very important and he prefers realism to fantasy.

"Princess Kaguya" is based on the Japanese oldest folklore "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter". But Isao Takahata transforms it into a universal humanistic story by describing Princess Kaguya as a realistic girl.

This film contains many fantastic scenes and they play as good eye candies. But the brilliantly illustrated life and emotions of the heroine is the most important part in this film. And that's what the director wants us to try to sympathize.

The beautiful and artistic style of this animation is suitable for this theme. Because this apparently unfinished animation gives us the room to imagine by ourselves.

Isao Takahata says, "The animations tend to deprive children of their own imagination by pushing them someone else's fantasy. We have to make another animation which let them imagine by themselves".

I can't wait to see the responses from the worldwide audience! Hope you will like this film too!

With the exception of the energetic The Lego Movie, this year has been a disappointment for the animated genre. What a relief then it is that Isao Takahata's (Grave of the Fireflies) new film is a triumphant success.

Based on a 10th century Japanese folktale, The Tale of Princess Kaguya is a bittersweet coming of age story. Our protagonist is Kaguya-hime who is discovered as a baby in a bamboo stalk by an old peasant man. He and his childless wife raise her as their own, providing the best they can as she rapidly ages. While her mother is fearful of change and just wants a comfortable life for her adopted daughter, her father envisions great things. He sees Kaguya as part of a divine plan and after fine clothes and gold come shooting out of bamboo stalks he concludes that the heavens want her to become a proper princess. He assumes this is the best way to make his daughter happy instead of asking her what she wants.

A sharply observed feminist critique of traditional Japanese culture as well as a cautionary tale of the burdens we place on our children, The Tale of Princess Kaguya has a wealth of complex themes and archetypes hidden beneath the surface of its fairly straight- forward story. This is one of the rare films that are both easily accessible to a young audience and one that film students can write thesis papers on.

The final word should be reserved for Studio Ghibli's animation. The style used invokes something between impressionist paintings and water-colours while employing a muted palette. Ghibli moves away from traditional anime and the results are breathtaking. The hand drawn frames could each stand alone as a portrait and yet the film feels fluid. At times the animation blurs into expressionism; the brush strokes matching the characters inner- turmoil.

Easily the best animated film of the year, it's a must see for fans of the genre. Luckily North America will get a theatrical release; the English-dubbed version will be out October 17 and will star Chloe Grace Moretz as Kaguya.

Like many other Ghibli fans I didn't like the Yamadas back in the day but Takahata Isao has returned with a blast.

The film is beautiful. The animation is simple yet exquisite, reminiscent of old Japanese watercolours. Special kudos go to Joe Hisaishi for his superb soundtrack - the final scene and its music left me almost in tears.

The only problems lie in the sometimes slow development of the plot and a few loose ends. There are also tiny deviations from the original story, but I felt that it was as true to it as possible. All in all a beautifully drawn, beautifully crafted movie, solid voice acting (for a Japanese movie at least) and, again, the beautiful music. Excellent job, Ghibli.

Hats down to Mr. Takahata as well.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya was certainly a story that I was fully intrigued with. Because of its limited release in theaters, it wasn't easy trying to find it, but when I finally caught it at a local art house theater, I was further interested in the story that had yet to unfold. Since it was based on the centuries-old Japanese folktale, I know it has been told differently many times by various writers in literature, theater, even film. Nevertheless, I had to check out Studio Ghibli's take on the classic story.

It's about an elder bamboo cutter named Okina who discovers a young, tiny girl in a bamboo shoot and decides to adopt her as his own along with his loving wife Ona. As years progress, the tiny girl begins to grow rapidly to normal size like the other children of their village, eventually having to leave since her adoptive parents decide to have her raised among the nobles. From there, she is given the name "Princess Kaguya" and things become further complicated when so much is offered to her so suddenly.

When comparing this movie to past Studio Ghibli efforts, it's obvious that the animation style is nothing like its preceding films. And with studio founder Hayao Miyazaki having stepped down and no involvement with this current project, I have to say it's a drastic, yet vibrant change in what Studio Ghibli is widely known for. I loved the story and it had an ending that was rather heartwarming and enough to tug anyone's heartstrings. With the English dub voice of Kaguya done gracefully by Chloe Grace-Moretz (Let Me In, Carrie, If I Stay), she actually stands out well as the title character, like it wasn't forced.

The animation technique was rather intricate, but it was reminiscent of an old Japanese art painting I've once studied about in Art History classes at my local college. American animation studios have believed traditional 2-D to be a dying art form in the film industry these days, but I can tell Japan does not acknowledge it in that way at all, whether it's TV or film. The concept I started believing for the entire film felt like "a timeless painting" and it's quite a stroke of genius, in my opinion.

The music and underscore of Joe Hisaishi has left me engaged that it flows evenly well with the scenes as they play out. But most notably, director Isao Takahata really stepped up following his involvements with titles like "Kiki's Delivery Service," "My Neighbor The Yamadas," and even the touching "Grave of the Fireflies." This entire movie has earned its rightful place in the Studio Ghibli library. This is another example of a Ghibli film where you don't have to be an avid Japanese Anime fan to enjoy it, what matters is that such themes existed in various genres, not just in one medium or one genre alone.

I can look back to a few experiences that completely changed the way that I watch movies; one of these is the first time that I saw Stanley Kubrick's 1968 masterpiece 2001: A Space Oddysey, which showed me the purest example of film as an art form that I had ever seen. I saw it not too long after I graduated high school and had never experienced a movie that expressed complex and confusing thoughts in the way that it did nor in such a visually stunning way. The film went beyond conventional narrative and filmmaking to deliver something entirely new to me.

In a similar manner, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya represents a level of artistry that I had never before seen in an animated feature. From the brilliant mind of Studio Ghibli's lesser-known co- founder Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday), the film is an adaptation of Japan's oldest folk tale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. It tells the story of a strange girl (Asakura/Moretz) who is discovered inside a bamboo stalk and who shoots through her childhood at a rapid pace. Her adoptive parents (Chii/Caan, Miyamoto/Steenburgen) bring her into the city, where she is groomed as a noblewoman and comes to be widely sought after for her beauty.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is simply gorgeous; its visual style combines watercolor painting and charcoal sketching to create something that is entirely its own. Personal and often unnecessary care is given to the smallest details, such as a toddler crawling after a frog or the princess casually putting her hair up. The character and quality of the animation even change with the tone of the story, most noticeably in one instance in which the princess' despair completely overwhelms her. As the world is stripped away and sound is simplified to almost nothing, the scene so perfectly expresses the character's personality and mood and presents such a perfect image of her story that to me, it fully represents the reasons that animation exists as a medium. Because there are no live actors or sets and no real world in which the filmmakers must do their work, the artists are free to fully express themselves as artists, without the constraints of the real world. Rather than use animation to simply bring color to a bland story as many animators are wont to do, the creators here use the deep story and visuals to produce situations and imagery that would otherwise be impossible to create. The movie spends much of its run time grounded firmly in reality – sometimes uncomfortably so – but at its most powerful, it extends far beyond what live action can achieve.

The film is also thematically rich, particularly exploring the societal roles of Japanese women at the time depicted. When she is no longer allowed to live her simple life around her childhood friends, her life becomes dedicated to presenting herself as beautiful and submissive to the world. She is instructed to sit still and to look pretty, never mind the fact that she is often hidden from view. She is whisked away to be married as soon as she reaches puberty and is told by both the men and women around that a rich husband will be the source of her greatest happiness.

Kaguya herself is a wonderful character to watch. She is at times one of the happiest people you could imagine but at others one of the saddest. After all, she started walking over the course of a day and grew into the body of a teenager in less than a year's time. Her innocence is shown as a blessing and a curse, and seeing her interact with the variety of people she encounters provides the film plenty of joy and drama.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya uses the language of cinema in a way that, in my experience watching animation, has been truly special; through blocking of scenes, visual symbolism, color, and much more, the film is able to speak to us beyond its surface narrative and to tell a more robust story. It makes full use of the opportunities unique to animation and combines them with tools of the great live- action masterpieces of the past.

The film, for example, often separates the princess from the rest of the world, particularly in scenes in which she is hidden from sight. She is often placed behind a screen or behind bamboo blinds for narrative purposes, but even when these are not present, there is often an element visually keeping her from other characters, such as a bamboo stalk or a tall blade of grass placed between them. While not forming a true wall between the characters, the viewer can see them separated and feel their distance.

This film also offers a wonderful experience of sound and silence through the use of its score, which consists of tracks mostly under two minutes long. This allows each moment of music to have its power and meaning, while not overwhelming the viewing experience or directing the viewer along every step of the film's vast emotional landscape. Through contrapuntal folk sounds or delicate solo piano, the film is able to sing its story to us as it shows it and tells it. The musical pieces and the silence between them are given the full attention that they deserve and in turn give us exactly what we need.

I cannot recommend this film highly enough. While critical response at its release was overwhelmingly positive, far too few people have heard of it, and even fewer have seen it. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is a movie that you will never forget and offers an experience not quite like anything else you will ever see.

I was a bit anxious before seeing this movie because it is not from Miyazaki but after seeing it I can say that there was no reason to be anxious about this movie. It's probably the most beautiful movie I've ever seen and it is equally as good, if not even better as spirited away and princess mononoke. The story is wonderfully told and it has some extremely sad moments. But probably the best thing about this movie is the breath taking animation. It's just incredibly beautiful and just so unique that you just won't forget it. As always for a Ghibli movie the movie has an eye for detail and you just feel the passion which was put into this movie. This movie was one of the best anime I have ever seen and probably also one of the best movies I have ever seen.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya's is Takahata's final work to end his prolific career at Studio Ghibli. The motion picture is not only based on the famous Japanese folktale but also a story about Takahata's own retirement and vision of death. Behind the facade of a girl that grows up to become a princess and eventually leave earth for the moon, is the author's own perceptions about the cycles of life, happiness, disappointments and afterlife. It's also a message about family values, and the lapses of time and age. The tale of princess Kaguya is probably my favorite Ghibli movie visually-wise. The water colors, reminiscent of ancient Chinese ink and brush techniques are masterfully used here, and bring out all the emotions from the movie's main protagonists. It really doesn't get any better than this. From the landscape canvas of rural Japan, to the magnificent character artwork, everything moves fluidly. The story is both hopeful and tragic, and the excellent dialogue adds up to it. The soundtrack from Joe Hisaishi is masterful and the Japanese voice overs are absolutely brilliant. To summarize without giving away too many details, this 140 min animated picture is a masterpiece from all angles, one of Studio Ghibli's finest releases and arguably one of the greatest animated movies ever made.

what an amazing experience.

probably the best movie i will ever see.

gorgeous animation, great storytelling, what a pity it had to end.

there isn't really much more to say about it.

forget about people's problems with it.

just go and see it.

i'm probably biased since i love the style and am interested in Japanese culture and Buddhism.

if you even have an inkling of interest in these you will probably love it.

PS: IMDb, your criteria for review submission are ridiculous to put it mildly.

The animation masterpiece of the decade. Takahata is going out on top. The fabled north American distribution deal between Disney and Studio Ghibli (apparently) applies only to the works of Myazaki; north American distribution of this is being handled by GKIDS. So the heavyweight marketing of Pixar/Disney isn't behind it. But don't be fooled by its "art-house" distribution or its relative obscurity - this is a really big deal.

It's an "epic", having taken eight years to produce and clocking in at well over two hours. I haven't seen the words "production committee" in credits since 'Akira' - that means it was too big for any one normal producer, so several companies had to form a "consortium": Studio Ghibli itself, a TV network, a foreign corporation, a movie studio, and three others. And the animation work itself was so large that parts of it were farmed out to _nine_ other studios.

There are two versions: an English dub of the soundtrack with most things written in English characters (although in general dubs suck, animation is often an exception); and a Japanese soundtrack with written English subtitles and most things (including virtually all the credits) written in Japanese characters. If the names of the voice actors you hear sound vaguely familiar, that's the English dub version. In fact, if you're viewing this in a theater, unless the theater is pretty sophisticated, you won't even have a choice - you'll see only the English dub version. And that's okay.

You get what you're used to from Studio Ghibli: powerful and independent women characters, a strong bond with the natural world, seamless switches back and forth between reality and fantasy, rootedness in tradition and folklore, and the music of Joe Hisaishi. Add to that some themes I associate specifically with Takahata: portrayals of "reality" even when it's quite sad, nostalgia, an acceptance and open portrayal of the concept of the "cycle of life", and ambivalence toward tradition and especially patriarchy (respecting and illustrating the good, while at the same time poking fun at the bad). Finally add a new twist I haven't seen in animation before: whole scenes where all the dialog, the visuals, and even the music, point to one interpretation ...only to recast the whole thing in a different light at the end to reach a totally unexpected conclusion.

The animation is 2D and very intricate, but still appears hand-drawn. Outlines vary in thickness and density, and colored areas don't always reach exactly to an outline. It could be computer-drawn (as many apparently hand-drawn animations actually are these days) only if the computer made an awful lot of "mistakes". Interestingly, the figures and the backgrounds look exactly the same (not different styles of animation as is often the case). It's all colored with pastels. The end result looks somewhat as though 'My Neighbors the Yamadas' had been used as starting sketches which were then finished.

I thought my evaluation of "hand drawn" was vindicated when a whole screenful of the end credits was occupied with the names of all the in-betweeners. But then just a bit later the whole screen was again filled with one category of names, this time all the digital ink and painters. Sometimes what you'd expect to be computer-generated is in fact clearly hand drawn, as when shadows move just a bit awkwardly between the beginning and the end of a scene. Other times the effect really seems computer-generated, as when a character is seen in a side closeup crashing through vegetation with lots and lots of branches flying much faster than anyone could draw them, or as when there's a cross-fade between scenes. I could never even guess though how it had been done when occasionally I could see what was behind a bit of translucent cloth.

I watched the movie in Japanese with subtitle, and found it moving, touching and entertaining. Like other Ghibli productions these are not mere animations they are experiences. A kind of the movie that remains with you for a long time. Unlike Hollywood movies and animation that once the credit roles you have forgotten it. This animation takes you away from artificial shallow and politically correct world of ours that everything has a motive and or lobbied by some interest group, where humanity is sold to some faction or interest group. One of the reviewers had the temerity to mention this movie in the same sentence as Lego movie please don't. This is an accomplishment and the latter is a travesty. Don't even mention the Fem. Word in this vicinity.

Based on real Japanese folklore, the animation takes its tone from those original artworks I've seen on Japanese scrolls, and mixes it with contemporary anime.

I love the way animation can take such simple things as eating a melon or watching birds fly into a tree so much more exciting. By using traditional animation (although I need notice some computerize layouts),The Japanese have done it again with their personal approach to the detail of animation you can only get from 2D.

Adding to my enjoyment, this English adaption of the film includes the voice talent of Chloë Grace Moretz as the princess, who I've become a fan of.

It was very beautiful artwork moving across the big screen.

If Isao Takahata made more films he would most likely be my favorite director of all time. He was a co-founder of Studio Ghibli, a widely acclaimed Japanese animation studio, and also directed a few films for them. He is without a doubt my favorite animation director of all time, (sorry Don Hertzfeldt and Hayao Miyazaki, your both still great.) so when I found out that he was going to release a new film, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, the first one in nearly fifteen years, I could not be happier. And when I found out that it was going to be his last one, and supposedly the last one by studio Ghibli, (which turned out to be false with the the release of When Marnie Was There, a film that everyone needs to check out.) I could not be sadder. But when I, at long last, saw The Tale of the Princess Kaguya I was more than satisfied with it.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is based of a 10th century Japanese myth called the tale of the bamboo cutter. Which is actually the oldest known Japanese story, there's something very marvelous in making your last film an adaptation of your cultures oldest story. In the story a humble childless bamboo cutter, (Voiced in the American dub of the film by James Caan.) who lives out in the mountains, and spends his days cutting down the bamboo trees, and spending time with his wife. One day the bamboo cutter cuts down a bamboo tree and a mysterious light shines from inside the tree and the bamboo cutter finds a strange small girl in the tree. (Voiced by Chloe Grace Moretz.) The bamboo cutter then takes the girl home to his wife and they decide to raise it as their own.

Supposedly The Tale of the Princess Kaguya was in production for eight years, and it shows. Not only is it the longest film Ghibli has ever produced, but every single frame in the film is absolutely awe-inspiring. I don't want to oversell the animation, but i think I can safely say that this might in fact be the best animation I've seen in any film ever up to this point. Don't get me wrong Spirited Away was immensely creative and detailed, and things like Akira and Fantasia were game changing, but there is a subtle and restrained beauty in The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, that I have never seen in any other film ever. Like all of the best animated films out there, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya creates its own world. And it's world is one of beautiful countrysides, crowded streets, empty lonely palaces, and most importantly whimsical magic. The animations subtle beauty does explode in some deeply emotional scenes, like in the flawlessly handled party scene, and the one immediately following it.

The film's perfect animation is greatly enhanced by its soundtrack. The score for The Tale of the Princess Kaguya was composed by Joe Hisaishi, who composed most of the Ghibli's films, but even with his impressive back catalog The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is some of his best work. The song "flying" from the soundtrack is enough to bring me to tears, and when you combine the song with the actual scene in the film, man there really is nothing else like it. And the lyrics to the Nursery Rhyme are simply touching. Between the animation and the soundtrack I would say that the best way to describe The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is that the film just oozes beauty.

The voice-acting is, well, on par with the soundtrack, animation and basically everything else in the film. Meaning it's beyond superb. Every single voice actor is at the top of their game. I should mention that I am talking about the English dub, the original Japanese dialogue is also great but I'm more familiar with the English dub, but in all honesty you can watch either and get the same effect. Typically when a film from a non-English speaking country gets released in an English speaking country, I would recommend watching the original dialogue, and to avoid any and all dubs, but that's not the case with Studio Ghibli. Disney owns the right to release Studio Ghibli films in America. So since they're Disney, when they release a Studio Ghibli film they get top quality actors to do the voices. And boy did they do a great job with The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. They're aren't many the big stars in The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, the biggest being Chloe Grace Moretz. But every single actor perfectly embodies they're character in a way that I've rarely seen done in animated film before this.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya was received well by critics, and was nominated for best animated feature by the academy awards in 2014, unfortunately it lost to Big Hero Six and while that's a decent film, the idea that Big Hero Six is anywhere near as good as The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is laughably and insultingly incorrect. The Tale of the Princess is one of the greatest animated films of all time, it's also one of the greatest films of the 2010s, if not they greatest for both of those categories. I really don't think I can recommend this film enough, everyone on this planet needs to see this film. It will never be possible for me, or anyone for that matter, to fully express this films beauty and quality in words, you just have to experience it for yourself. And please experience it as soon as possible.

10/10

One of Studio Ghibli's last feature films before the legendary animation studio went on an indefinite break, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is Isao Takahata's first picture in over 15 years and happens to be an eloquently narrated, gorgeously animated & patiently paced cinema that attempts to bring on screen one of the oldest tales in Japanese folklore.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya tells the story of its titular character who was found in a bamboo shoot by a bamboo cutter who, believing her to be a divine presence, brings her home to his wife. Although this mysterious tiny girl grows rapidly into a young lady, dazzling all who encounters her, she eventually is left with no alternative but to confront her own fate.

Co-written & directed by Isao Takahata (best known for Grave of the Fireflies), this tale is crafted with precision care & elegance plus how all of it is animated brings an artistic vibe of its own. The use of colour palette, sketch-like animation & minimalist approach leaves a lasting impression, the voice performances are spot-on while Joe Hisaishi's score nicely compliments the whole narrative.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya also covers the various restraints women find themselves in every facet of life, no matter what society they happen to be part of, and exposes that without preaching. However, its 137 minutes of runtime feels a tad too long, the final act is stretched, and although its creativity is undeniably impressive, the whole story kind of lacks that immersive element, much like Takahata's earlier works.

On an overall scale, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya brims with some truly astonishing images and is another winning marvel from the acclaimed studio. It's aesthetically pleasing, artistically fulfilling & emotionally gripping and there are going to be many who will have nothing but endless praise for the manner in which this ancient Japanese folklore is illustrated on the film canvas. As for me, I do admire a number of things about Takahata's latest but don't feel any love for it. Still, I've no qualms in recommending it to anyone for it is worthy of a broader audience.

"The Tale of Princess Kaguya" is a very, very familiar story in Japan. It's from a story that is a thousand years old, "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter". And, since it's a classic, there have been many movie versions of the story. Because of this, I was quite familiar with this, as I'd already seen "Princess From the Moon"--a 1987 live-action version. Unlike the other six versions of the story that I was able to find, this one is animated and it comes from Studio Ghibli--the same people who make the Miyazaki films, though this one is from Isao Takahata.

For the most part, the story you see in the film is the old tale. One day, a poor woodcutter slices into a stalk of bamboo and finds a beautiful thumb-size child. Since he and his wife are childless and have always wanted one, they are overjoyed with the discovery and raise the child. However, the same fortune that brought them the baby also rewarded them with gold when the woodcutter chopped additional bamboo. And, oddly, the child grows to normal size and becomes a lady in practically no time at all. Soon they are rich and able to give their girl the life of a princess and she's taught all manners and customs that a proper lady would need. However, it's obvious that young Princess Kaguya isn't happy in this life, as courtier after courtier come for her hand and she simply isn't interested. So, she gives them impossible tasks to complete before she'd agree to marry any of them. When they all fail, the Emperor himself comes to court her but she rebuffs him--mostly because she knows her time on Earth is drawing to a close. Where all this goes next, you'll find out if you watch the movie.

The animation for this movie is quite lovely--with a nice look that appears as if the film was made with colored pencils and watercolors. While it's more minimalistic than you'd usually find in a Ghibli film, it looks very appropriate to the Medieval Japanese period. In fact, the look of the film is the best thing about the movie. The story, as you probably noticed above, is odd--especially to non-Japanese audiences. The ending, is even odder, by the way. But the film still could have worked despite the unusual story. However, I found the pacing to be too slow and I noticed my attention waning from time to time. Not surprisingly, it's the longest film released by Ghibli to date. Had they trimmed about 15 to 20 minutes and removed the plot involving the poor boyfriend (which was not in the original story), I think the film would have worked better for me. Worth seeing for a very patient audience who is looking for something very different--otherwise a strange sort of picture that probably would offer little appeal to kids and folks wanting something light and Disney-like.

By the way, although I was not bowled over by this film, it has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. My vote is for "The Box Trolls"...a film which managed to combine both artistry and an excellent original story.

I liked this to a good extent, and my rating goes up because of the last 15 minutes, which are so magnificent. Those last several minutes and the first act are truly brilliant, but for some reason, the film sort of lost me in its middle and a little more than that. Not completely lost me, but it did get a little too much and it got to less interesting overall. I can't say I completely agree with the critical acclaim it's gotten, but I think it's a good, sometimes very good, film, definitely made stronger because of certain scenes. The sound mixing here is incredible, and the voice acting (in its original language) is pretty fantastic as well. Overall, still recommended but with reservations, yeah.

I have to declare that am not aware of the creator or the Japanese tale this was based on and certainly no expert in Japanese animation and/or folklore. The truth is I watched it by accident.

So this is supposed to be "One of the best movies of the year"? Well, I was not impressed, at least not as much as everyone seems to be.

I didn't mind the animation style, but I certainly didn't find much beauty in it, or feeling, or emotions.. I looked childish and simple but with no heart, it was kind of dry.

Story wise, it was unoriginal and after a while boring. And way too long: it had a promising start, but after they moved to the Capital the story stalled. It never managed to put me inside its world and make me feel something about its universe or the Princess.

So to conclude, the story never moved me and the animation never talked to me.. the 5 is only for the first 40mins or so and the last 15, especially the scene when she meets again with her child love.

(originally seen at http://goo.gl/UNpKrF)

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is an animated film based on what is widely believed to be the first canonical story in Japanese folklore, which is a lofty goal. It's generally a good sign to see the name of Studio Ghibli in the title cards, but even with the legendary abilities of Ghibli-trained animators rendering a story in a hand-drawn, highly emotive style, it ultimately fell quite flat for me.

The problem comes solely down to the direction of Isao Takahata. His style is a vast departure from the work of Miyazaki, and while I'm certainly not a purist as far as how a film should look, Takahata-san has missed several very important lessons from the studio's legendary founder, and those lessons cover all the ways in which Kaguya failed for me.

G Kids also distributed one of my favorites films of all time this last year: Song of the Sea. Tomm Moore knows, as Miyazaki knows, that your art—while stylized—must have a consistent focus and theme to it. Kaguya is unfettered, blending art and animation styles between artists with no theme. Characters are drawn vastly different from each other, looking like caricatures of trolls more than people at times, with no central idea or motif to make the world seem like anything but a mash-up. If you pay attention to Song of the Sea or, say, The Wind Rises (one of my favorites of Miyazaki's catalog), you see the art style carried through every character, every setting, and every detail. That's the kind of direction that a story needs, one where the details are crafted, not left to whims and crumpled together in the edit.

While the story is a sad and heartfelt one, its presentation suffers greatly as Takahata really foregoes centuries of storytelling know-how, ensuring that audiences will have to expend a great deal of effort to engage with the plot. Kaguya (voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz in the English dub), is a goddess descended from the moon to live with a poor unnamed bamboo cutter and his wife (James Cann and Mary Steenburgen, respectively). For reasons left unexplained, the child grows from an infant to an adolescent in a matter of weeks (if that), and is blessed with a gift of gold and silks from the stalks of bamboo plants, which sends her father into an apoplectic fit of narcissism, self-absorbed negligence, and social-climbing ambition. He pulls Kaguya into the city to be raised as royalty in an effort to try to feel fulfilled on his own, and Kaguya is miserable until she's eventually called back to the moon due to reasons we never get the time to know, because she's off the screen and the movie's over in less than ten minutes after we first hear of it.

This plot, disjointed as it is, sets up a lot of dissonance. It's hard to understand why she's so reluctant to return to the moon (much less how she knows of her destiny) when her father was such a miserable person to her for pretty much her entire life, using her to gain some semblance of self-worth. I never got any time to try to relate to her, or to glean any sense of her relationship with others. The plot skips when it should walk and crawls when it should run. At over two hours long, it both rushes and drags in ways I haven't seen in cinema for many years now. Stories like this are the reason so many storytelling tropes have been invented and accepted over the years. The standard Three-Act Plot, the classic Show, Don't Tell rule, pacing curves—most of the rules of fiction are shown here rather conspicuously by their absence.

Sadly, there's not much else to save it. The music is fitting, and not overbearing. It's nothing I'd rush to find the OST for, but it's well-done. The voice acting for the three main characters is worth applauding, but outside of that, we're again stuck with the traditional Disney-style parade of A-list celebrities who really have no ability to voice act at all. The performances are characteristically stilted and flat, which might fit the Disney-imported trend, but it's hardly required.

Kaguya is a film that people have been lining up to throw perfect scores at like so many roses to a bullfighter, so I realize that I'm certainly not setting myself up for a popular review here. There's probably not many ways to make more enemies online than harshly criticizing a Studio Ghibli film, but here we are. I'm afraid that Kaguya is a rare miss from this studio, perhaps the exception that proves the rule of Miyazaki-san's excellence as a traditional—yet culture-spanning—storyteller.

Scores (out of 10) Acting: 6 Story: 3 Visuals: 6 Sound: 5 Enjoyment: 3 Overall Score: 4/10

Simple tale that cold have been told in one hour turned into a two hour long torture.

The film started out in a great way, but when they moved to the capital it started to drag on too much until the last 15 minutes of the film that were a lot of non-sense. I don't get how people get so touched and love films that have a lot of drama with a basic storyline and pointless ending.

Some nice visuals, but not stunning.

Some nice moments,but not touching enough.

Nice subject, but not a good story after all.

The first thing to note about this film is the beauty of it. Just about all of the scenes of this film could be viewed in a museum which is saying something itself. If anything, watch the film for the portrayal of a young woman and the amazing visuals.

The film begins with a bamboo cutter finding a girl inside the light of a bamboo. The girl grows exponentially and she grows with the plot, going from baby to young adult way quicker than expected.

The first portion of the film is concentrated when she is much younger, (around the age of maybe 1-12?). Her playfulness with Sutemaru and the other children is quite an enjoyable portion of the film. As with many of Studio Ghibli's work, especially Totoro, the film is able to portray her life in a way many studios even without animation cannot.

The other half is concentrated on her moving to the capital and becoming a princess. Unlike the ideals of films in the US, she does not seem to want to become one, but instead wants to be with Sutemaru and the others. It's a refreshing change from the Disney Princess motif where beauty, richness, and a love is what is needed. Her life is transformed, eventually by Sagami, a lady who turns her into well, a princess. She is eventually approached by suitors and others.

I will not mention the ending of the film as well, I wasn't as big a fan of it. The big revelation is as shocking to the audience as it is surprising. I knew of part of the plot through Okami but the way it was portrayed was a little too in your face. The actual ending itself is odd, with many of the people in the theater (at IFC) scratching their heads and thinking, "That is it and what was that?" Also, I was wondering when the film was going to end. It slows down to a crawl but then speeds up to such a speed that it almost becomes silly.

I also wasn't as a big a fan of the father (Okina) through the later parts of the film. His transformation into a man of power/wealth is a bit too severe and one-sided. I preferred his wife (Oina) as she still shows the love and playfulness of them back in the village.

I preferred the plot of the first 4/5ths of the film than the other 1/5th in short. The film is excellent but the plot wears down on itself and by the end, it is harder to care and more think that it is just an odd piece of filming. The movie gets an 8.5...but probably would be closer to an 8 or 7.5 if the graphics/music weren't nearly as amazing as they are. I'm rounding it down for this reason.

The famous Japanese movie production company 'Studio Ghibli' is known mostly for Hayao Miyazaki's film resume that ranges from 'Spirited Away' to 'The Wind Rises'. Studio Ghibli continues to put out beautiful and important animated films that not only tell an amazing story, but it also touches on several political, religious, and societal issues that are relevant all over the world. And Miyazaki's films have conjured up a large global audience that has developed into a cult following that is bigger than ever today.

But this film 'The Tale of Princess Kaguya' is not a Miyazaki film. Instead, this is an Isao Takahata film and is not your typical Japanese animated film that has sleek CG animated effects or female characters that dress in next to nothing. 'Princess Kaguya' is a 137 minute film that is 100% hand drawn and is a story from the 10th century, which is called 'The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'. Many people say that this is one of the first if not the first science fiction story ever thought up. And when I say science-fiction, I'm not insinuating aliens, space ships or far off planets with lasers. Instead, this wonderful story starts out with a middle aged man and his wife who live a quiet life in the mountains.

This man is a bamboo cutter, who uses bamboo for food, shelter, baskets, and clothing. While working in the bamboo field, he notices a strange glow from one of the bamboo trees. When he investigates, he notices a little seedling that is rapidly growing. In it is a tiny little person who is alive. He takes this small person back to his wife where it transforms into a baby girl, who grows very fast too. The bamboo cutter and his wife think that heaven sent her down to Earth to become the most beautiful princess there ever was. As she grows up fast, her parents collect gold and fine clothing from the magical bamboo tree, which he has a giant palace in the city built for her.

The bulk of this long movie shows this magical princess growing up and adjusting to her new wealthy and powerful life. Her father hires a teacher to instruct her on how to be a proper lady and princess, but the princess would rather laugh, dance, play in the fields, and sing than live a life of boredom in 10th century Japan. In addition to this being one of the first science-fiction stories, it also has a lot of feministic and women's rights qualities to it, which is always great to see.

Another big part of the story has five of the wealthiest and powerful men in Japan vying for her love and marriage, to which she has never met any of them. She sends each of them on impossible tasks to prove their love for her, but it's really a ploy to see if they truly care about her or if they just want her as a piece of property. One of the overall story arcs is the love between the princess and a young boy she was friends with when they were little, where their paths cross rarely throughout the course of this movie, but their love is still binding them together, even they are so far away.

This PG family friendly film might be too slow for most, where as anime buffs might take a stronger liking to it, but as the ending draws closer, the more bizarre the film gets, taking you out of the whole point of the story. The best parts are towards the beginning of the film, watching the princess grow up. It has such a wonderful and carefree charm about it that should make you smile. The animation is beautiful and simple and wonderfully colored. It's a real treat to see something illustrated fully by hand without the use of computers these days. The 137 minute run time is a bit long and could have played out better as a mini series, as this film is fairly episodic, but none-the-less, it's an excellent piece of animation and a great story. I just think it got away from itself from time to time and took too long to tell.

14 years after directing the underrated My Neighbors the Yamadas, director Isao Takahata finally released his new film. Based on the oldest, and apparently most well-known folktale in Japan, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. (spoilers) It details the life (and times) of Kaguya, a small girl who originates from a city on the moon, is sent to earth where she excels in the simple farm life, suffers under life as a lady in the city and eventually returns to the moon. It's a story containing both realist and surreal elements, a combination that Takahata has perfected in his films. Though apparently a very popular tale in Japan, the story isn't exactly blockbuster material. Nevertheless, Takahata followed his own vision and has crafted a highly effective film replete with all the love and care and obsessive attention to detail Studio Ghibli has become known for.

We first see (what else) a bamboo cutter discovering a robed girl, Kaguya of course, as small as his hand in a forest. He takes her into his home with his wife where Kaguya grows abnormally fast. She lives a happy country life with friends etc. Eventually, the bamboo cutter cuts another bamboo tree and to his astonishment finds gold. He becomes something of a rich man and convinces his wife that by moving to the capital, they'll finally be able to grant Kaguya the kind of life that will make her happy. Of course, life as a lady is only suffocating to the free-spirited Kaguya who alternates between having to learn and accept the lifestyle of a 'proper lady' and wanting to desperately escape the city.

Naturally, the film looks stunning. Takahata utilizes a palette consisting mostly of soft pastels and charcoal. Characters are drawn in minimalist, though highly distinct fashions. The soft pastels and charcoal textures aren't just eye candy however, but fit with the story's ancient origins, the film looking as if drawings on ancient Japanese scrolls were coming to life. As befits Takahata, visuals are also used to externally emphasize a character's inner life and feelings. One particularly amazing scene, showing Kaguya desperately fleeing the capital, begins with pastels and charcoal, but soon grows more aggressive, with more and more harsh charcoal lines, reflecting Kaguya's inner turmoil as she flees It's quite simply one of those scenes where you realize you are, at that very moment, witnessing 'art' taking place in front of your eyes; in other words, the greatest thing you could possibly experience in a movie theater.

Personally, I can only level two complaints at the film: one, the surrealist aspect of the story was a bit hard to digest. I'm referring to the moment when Kaguya realizes she's from the moon and has to return there. There's something strange about watching a scene where she outright tells her 'parents' she's from the moon when the film up until this point was highly realistic in tone, despite the surrealist opening scene where she's found by the bamboo cutter. Two, the film is perhaps a tad too long. I have nothing against long (animated) films per se, but here I eventually felt exhaustion entering my body. I think this is an issue inherent to the story and the fact that it isn't exactly the most varied plot. There are basically only two environments: the landscapes depicting nature and life in the city. As befitting Takahata's later output, the tempo is quite slow and this will be hard for viewers who are unfamiliar with Takahata to digest. In its favor, I find the slow tempo to also be to the film's benefit. Like Kaguya, the viewer also grows tired of the city's endless parade of suitors and emphasis on etiquette.

I've read articles where people question the point of this film. Why would Takahata adapt this story? After directing films like Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday, why would he turn to Japan's oldest folktale? I believe the reason can be found in the end of the film. At one point, Kaguya is hesitant to go back to the moon and leave earth and all she's experienced. Even later, she has a small monologue about earthly life in general with all the beautiful and negative experiences she's accumulated. The point she's making is that despite the things she's experienced during her days as a 'lady' in the city, she still loves earthly life. Think back to Takahata's Only Yesterday with its positive outlook on people and life despite all the dramatic events. Both films prefer the honest farmer's life as opposed to city life. Think back to Yamadas which is an even more overt celebration of daily life in all its normalcy. Kaguya fits easily within this most important of themes in Takahata's filmography.

I really enjoyed watching this movie. The colour and detail in the sketches. Specific detail was added where the viewers eye was meant to go. (though I did quite enjoy laughing at the several tiny babies that were left partially drawn)

It is quite refreshing to notice the attention paid to the sketches that went over the changes of the seasons. The detail with the insects, plants, flowers and animals.

Another aspect that really brings quite an effect into the story would be the colour scheme; colourful, ocher/grey, red. The drawings alone are impressive but the additional colour REALLY brings out the emotion behind the ongoing story.

I found the story rather strange because certain parts were confusing. I think this is one film I shall keep in my list to see again.

Like many others, I've been following Studio Ghibli for decades. I always found its stories to be mature, as well as fitting for younger audiences. Stories for adults with a child's heart. I also liked the way they -almost- always offered some hope, regardless how dramatic or even gloomy they could get.

Unfortunately, this tale is for mature audiences only, I'd say, and it's rather depressing, overall.

There's nothing wrong with the film per se; the animation takes a very traditional approach and it becomes even simplistic, separating itself vastly from most Ghibli productions. The storytelling can get dull for people who are not into drama, with its 2 hours and 17 minutes in length.

Besides, this movie lacks also a certain sense of movement which other Ghibli films had, mostly in the form of unapologetic action. The pace is quite tranquil, with one or two rushy moments, without reaching the peaks achieved in previous Ghibli films (and no real action).

I liked other Takahata movies, like Pom Poko, Only Yesterday, My Neighbors the Yamadas and Grave of the Fireflies (being the latest pretty grim, as well).

Alas, it's a movie for the taste of critics for sure. Pity that their tastes do not have anything to do with the youth, and the message Ghibli delivers to them in other films is lost here to a more mature and disenchanted audience.

"Kaguyahime no monogatari" or "The Tale of The Princess Kaguya" is the newest Studio Ghibli movie. You may know director Isao Takahata, who turns 80 next year, from "Grave of the Fireflies" or the 1970's TV show "Heidi".

As I wrote in the title, the way you will perceive this film is gonna depend a lot on how you like the animation. It is almost like a children's book and certainly not everybody's cup of tea as it's just so different, not only compared to what Disney and Pixar did in recent years, but also compared to other Ghibli films, such as Miyazaki's work. If you appreciate the style, however, you will surely like this movie. Checking out the trailer before might be a particularly good idea here to get a grasp of what you can expect. By the mere looks of it, this film could also have been made 50 years ago.

My favorite part was possibly the first 45 minutes, the time Kaguya spends with her "parents" in the village before they move to the city. It's just all so harmonic and easy-going. Quite a shame, her father had something else for her in mind as otherwise we may have gotten the same for another 90 minutes. The life in the city and Kaguya's transformation were good to watch too, but not really for the story than for all the cultural and social references of Japan. The stories with her admirers were solid, but somehow I felt something was missing. The ending was a good idea. I liked the return-to-the-moon plot, but I wished it would have been done without all these moon people coming down to get her. I actually really liked the sequence, where she flies up with her childhood crush and this could have worked as a better ending in my opinion. But at least, they did not go for a forced happy ending.

I am not sure about the Japanese version, but the German dubbed version I saw had a female narrator with very little text that was really not necessary in my opinion. One particularly interesting thing about the story was her relationship with her father. Even if he was the driving force for her different new life, which she did not appreciate at all, she was always as loving to him as she was towards her mother. This film offers lots of room for interpretation. Was the finding of the bamboo with a girl inside just as unlikely as the mother giving birth to her at that age and was the girl actually suffering from an illness that resulted in her early death? What about the quick growing early on and the normal growing later on? With that early speed, she must have surpassed her parents in terms of age quickly. And what about the bamboo reference? Do these grew tall quickly and stay the same till they die after 25 or so years? Is there a botanist in the room? This film is on the preselection for Academy Award Best Animated Feature Films and it will be interesting to see if it can make the cut and score the nomination or even possibly win. To make a decision for myself, I still have to see some of the other films on that list. Kaguya, however, is certainly worth watching and there were only really very few moments where I felt it dragged a bit, unsurprisingly with such a long runtime, especially for an animated movie. It was all very rewarding as the song that played during the closing credits was pretty beautiful.

I'm yet to find an anime that I love, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya isn't it. I just don't connect to ancient Japanese culture and all of its downsides are in the story. The character work is solid, but it's archetypal stuff and still nothing that digs deep in a relatable way. This is just a type of whimsy that I don't enjoy, and at 2 hours, it's more of a chore. But at least it's a pretty chore. No doubt you marvel at the animation, especially during the dramatic running sequences. The fluttering music tends to match the lightness of the visuals. I respect Takahata, as I do for Miyasaki, but his Graves of the Fireflies did nothing for me as well. Outside the man hours put into it, Kaguya is nothing special.

6/10