The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

Dir: Isao Takahata

2013

*****

Isao Takahata has made one of my least favorite Studio Ghibli films, 1999's My Neighbours the Yamadas. Compared to the usual visual flare you can expect from the studio, Takahata's animations are a bit too simple and dare I say, almost dull in comparison to their other great work. When I think of Ghibli and what I love about it, it is the mix of simplisity but with great regard to detail. However, while The Tale of The Princess Kaguya isn't always very colourful, it is bright and very striking and certainly never dull. Takahata's simplistic style is used far more effectively than in his previous work, the detail growing at the same speed as Princess Kaguya and the overall story. The detail, or lack of, gives the film a wonderful fluidity, which works perfectly for what it is. Based on the 10th Century Japanese Buddhist folktale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Isao Takahata's dream like style gives the film a certain level of timelessness and the story some reverence. The story is easily one of Ghibli's finest, mixing folk-law, Buddhism and fantasy beautifully and in a somewhat more mature way than you might expect. It's the best example of the notion of idealism I've ever seen, both children and adults could learn a lot from it, whether they're Buddhist or not. The last scene is nothing short of sensational, even more so than you'd expect from the studio. I'll be honest, I'd much prefer to watch My Neighbour Totoro or PrincessMononoke over this if I had the choice but there is no doubt that it is one of Ghibli and Takahata's most faultless masterpieces.