The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureCinemaMovie reviews

The Tale of Princess Kaguya

The Tale of Princess Kaguya | Movie review
10 March 2015
Mahmud El Shafey
Avatar
Mahmud El Shafey
10 March 2015

Movie and show review

Mahmud El Shafey

The Tale of Princess Kaguya

★★★★★

Release date

20th March 2015

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Links

TwitterFacebookWebsite

The Tale of Princess Kaguya is a richly-drawn and heart-wrenching new film by Studio Ghibli. Based on the tenth-century Japanese folk tale The Woodcutter’s Daughter, Isao Takahata’s swan-song simultaneously dazzles the senses and tugs on the heartstrings.

kaguyastillThe story begins with an elderly bamboo cutter, who finds a tiny magical princess inside a shining stalk of bamboo. Believing that he has been blessed by the gods, he takes the tiny princess home, only for her to transform into a very real human baby. Things only get stranger from there. We see Princess Kaguya, known as Takenoko (Little Bamboo) by her friends, grow up in Japan’s rural countryside, only for her father to decide to send her to the capital, where she must learn to be a true noblewoman. Kaguya must deal with the unwanted advances of the kingdom’s most eligible bachelors, setting them a series of impossible tasks in return for her hand in marriage, before facing her biggest challenge yet.

The film’s animation differs from many of Studio Ghibli’s other offerings, featuring a minimalist art style that encompasses pen and charcoal-drawn sketches, perfectly accentuating the movie’s plot. The film’s artwork is fluid and gorgeous, with the style subtly changing depending on a scene’s emotional resonance. The Tale of Princess Kaguya also features a stunning soundtrack, which seamlessly combines with the plot and animation to produce something that is far greater than any of its individual components.

With a running-time of over two hours, it could be argued that the film is drawn out too long, though this gives the audience more time to luxuriate in the wonderful world that Takahata has brought to the screen. An oddly-structured plot and several surprise twists keep the audience on edge, producing a delicious contrast with the sheer beauty of the animation and soundtrack.

A fusion of joy, melancholy, traditional art and modern animation, the impact of The Tale of Princess Kaguya will certainly linger with its viewers.

★★★★★

                                                                        Mahmud El Shafey

The Tale of Princess Kaguya is released on 20th March 2015.

Watch the trailer for The Tale of Princess Kaguya here:

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Related Items2015film reviewIsao Takahatamovie reviewStudio GhibliThe Tale of Princess Kaguya

More in Movie reviews

Imperial Blue

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More

MLK/FBI

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Sing Me a Song

★★★★★
Abbie Grundy
Read More

A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Wonder Woman 1984

★★★★★
Jake Cudsi
Read More

Come Away

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More

Murder Me, Monster

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

David Byrne’s American Utopia

★★★★★
Rosamund Kelby
Read More

Dreamland

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Mahmud El Shafey

The Tale of Princess Kaguya

★★★★★

Release date

20th March 2015

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Links

TwitterFacebookWebsite

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Outside the Wire
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • You Me at Six – Suckapunch
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories
    Theatre
  • Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Lonely the Brave – The Hope List
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Exception
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Baby Done
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Quo Vadis, Aida?
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Persian Lessons
    Cinema
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Ten short literary collections to get you back into reading
    Literature
  • Mayor
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Rasta Thomas’ Romeo and Juliet at the Peacock | Dance review
Alex Katz: Black Paintings at Timothy Taylor Gallery | Exhibition review