Not your ordinary fairy tale.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Grade: A-
Director: Isao Takahata (Pom Poko)
Screenplay: Takahata, Riko Sakaguchi (The Little Maestro)
Cast: Voices of Chloe Grace Moretz (The Equalizer) and James Caan (Elf)
Rating: PG
Runtime: 137 min.
by John DeSando
“Being a princess isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” Princess Diana
Who would have thought bamboo could produce such a delicate beauty as a princess (voice of Chloe Grace Moretz)? In the hands of the Japanese Studio Ghibli , director Isao Takahata has crafted a rival story of his colleague in that same studio, Hayao Miyazaki (The Wind Rises). The 10th-century tale of a princess found in a bamboo shoot carries enough contemporary relevance to keep grad students in theses for a decade.
This lovely and exciting Japanese anime sports the usual and still beautiful charcoal–watercolor motif (you’ll want to linger with the plum blossoms) accompanied by Joe Hisaishi’s fitting pastoral, woodland music. The surprisingly simple theme--like Dorothy and ET, she needs to get home--has multiple strains of narrative, not the least of which shows a loving adoptive mother and father (Mary Steenburgen and James Caan), who try to give her everything a princess could want only to fail to give her a most important treasure, her friends and relatives in her far away home.
The lack of maudlin longing and her affection for her adoptive home make this unusual storytelling because it does not pander to the expectations of the audience. When the princess abjures the stylistic and cosmetic changes to make her look like a princess (her dad has, after all, bought her into royalty and she needs to look like one), she evidences the rebellious attitude of teens everywhere and anytime.
Although violence could have been a legitimate element of this story, there is none; although a sappy romance with a handsome prince could have been warranted, there is none; although Kaguya could have been too sweet, she is not. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is a beautifully told story in the best Japanese tradition.
“My mom won’t let anyone treat me like a little princess.” Chloe Grace Moretz
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.rr.com
“My mom won’t let anyone treat me like a little princess.” Chloe Grace Moretz
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.rr.com
