The Tale of the Princess Kaguya Movie Review (2013)

animation, drama, fantasy, movie review,

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The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is the newest animated film from Studio Ghibli in my opinion is one of the greatest if not the greatest animation studio in existence. Please keep making movies! This film is directed by Isao Takahata who brought us Grave of the Fireflies (1988), one of the best anime film ever made and a very touching war story.
This film is based on a story in Japanese folklore called The Tale of The Bamboo Cutter, about a little girl who grows out of a bamboo, raised by a family, eventually turned into a princess, and eventually her odd and strange supernatural beginning come back to haunt her.
I was so excited to see this movie, not just because I love anime, but because Studio Ghibli has made some of the best animated entertainments ever. Hayao Miyazaki movies alone are some of the best movies ever made, not just animated movies. Have you ever seen My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Spirited Away (2001), or Princess Mononoke (1997) ? or any of his movie ? The man is genius, and Studio Ghibli continues their reign of awesomeness with this movie.
I love this film, it’s such a unique and original looking anime. I have never seen a movie with such bold and rich colorful artwork that just leap over the screen without any computerized elements getting involved with that. It’s just like the artists created this movie with their hands from scratch.

Another animation film you might like : Big Hero 6

Studio Ghibli's movies are largely viewed as kid’s films, certain one like Princess Mononoke and others like that aren't really kid’s films but for the most part they’re viewed as family entertainment movies, but they’re not like America’s family entertainment, trust me. Because this film especially has a very mature and realistic look at life.
As this girl grows up in the wilderness you see her enjoy life, she loves it, she loves to frolic around in the woods and when she’s forced to take on his princess role by her well-meaning but not entirely helpful father, life becomes very hard for her as various suitors coming try to woo her and you get to see a girl who really doesn't understand her place in the world which is the theme that is well explored in movies. Characters who are out of place or feel out of the ordinary which most people do to be honest, and that’s one of the things I loved about this film, it took that so seriously.
It shown such a mature and realistic and non glossy portrayal of what life can be like sometimes for adolescents. There isn't a part of this movie that feels fictional despite some of the supernatural elements that are happening which by the way there are moments of extreme beauty in this movie that had my mouth dropped, particularly the sequence where she burst out of her house in anger and runs into the woods. It’s some of the most impressive animation that my eyes ever witnessed.
Princess Kaguya is a movie of raw emotion, extreme childlike wonder and glee, amazing animation and one of Studio Ghibli’s best film.

Director: Isao Takahata
Writers: Isao Takahata (story), Isao Takahata (screenplay)
Stars (voices): Chloë Grace Moretz, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, Lucy Liu
Duration: 137 min