Monday, July 18, 2016

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

The Gist: A bamboo cutter finds what he thinks is a princess sent from Heaven in a bamboo stalk. He and his wife commit to care for her and raise her to become a noble princess, just as Heaven intended. The girl grows abnormally rapidly and turns into a beautiful young lady who enthralls anyone who encounters her. But the day comes when she realizes where she comes from and why, and what has to happen next.

Nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is very well made and tells a very sweet tale with the utmost gentleness.

The only reason I am not rating it higher is that I found it too long (clocking in at 137 minutes!) and while the story is certainly multilayered, it also runs slow at times.

The Bottom Line: This is not the kind of animation we're now accustomed to, flashy and perfectly rendered. Rather, it's the age old hand drawn kind, choppy, and roughly defined, but that doesn't detract from the whole. A nice movie for the whole family.

Grade: 7

No comments: