Studio Ghibli’s Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies) transforms an ancient Japanese folktale into a dazzling animated fantasy.
Isao Takahata is a co-founder of Japan's
legendary Studio Ghibli, maker of timeless
animation classics. Although he is
not as widely known in the West as Hayao
Miyazaki, Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies,
Only Yesterday, and Pom Poko represent
the best of what animated features can do:
invite us into a world where anything is possible.
His new film, The Tale of The Princess
Kaguya, revisits a familiar Studio Ghibli
theme, telling the story of a magical girl
among ordinary humans.
Okina (voiced by Takeo Chii) is a bamboo
cutter in ancient rural Japan. One day in the
forest, he finds a tiny baby in the folds of a
bamboo shoot. He brings the creature home
to his wife Ounaa (Nobuko Miyamoto) and
they decide to keep her and raise her as a
princess. She is clearly not of this world.
Kaguya (Aki Asakura) grows at an unnatural
rate, soon maturing into an uncommonly
beautiful young woman. Since Okina has
now also found a cache of gold and treasure
in the forest, every suitor wants Kaguya.
But this is not a fairytale of courtship
and marriage. True to the Studio Ghibli
that brought us Ponyo and Kiki's Delivery
Service, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
follows this strange young female as she
creates her own identity.
Based on a tenth-century folk tale familiar
to many Japanese people, this is not
uniquely a children's film. It exhibits the
finest qualities of myth, engagingly simple
on the surface but containing profound
lessons as well. And Takahata's imagery is
breathtaking: individually drawn, hand-coloured
frames that flow like a river of
delicate, detailed watercolour paintings.
Like Miyazaki's recent The Wind Rises, The
Tale of The Princess Kaguya is an extraordinary
work of art.
CAMERON BAILEY
Okina (voiced by Takeo Chii) is a bamboo cutter in ancient rural Japan. One day in the forest, he finds a tiny baby in the folds of a bamboo shoot. He brings the creature home to his wife Ounaa (Nobuko Miyamoto) and they decide to keep her and raise her as a princess. She is clearly not of this world. Kaguya (Aki Asakura) grows at an unnatural rate, soon maturing into an uncommonly beautiful young woman. Since Okina has now also found a cache of gold and treasure in the forest, every suitor wants Kaguya. But this is not a fairytale of courtship and marriage. True to the Studio Ghibli that brought us Ponyo and Kiki's Delivery Service, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya follows this strange young female as she creates her own identity.
Based on a tenth-century folk tale familiar to many Japanese people, this is not uniquely a children's film. It exhibits the finest qualities of myth, engagingly simple on the surface but containing profound lessons as well. And Takahata's imagery is breathtaking: individually drawn, hand-coloured frames that flow like a river of delicate, detailed watercolour paintings. Like Miyazaki's recent The Wind Rises, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is an extraordinary work of art.
CAMERON BAILEY