Isao Takahata retires with one of the most beautiful pieces of art ever If Isao Takahata made more films he would most likely be my favorite director of all time. He was a co-founder of Studio Ghibli, a widely acclaimed Japanese animation studio, and also directed a few films for them. He is without a doubt my favorite animation director of all time, (sorry Don Hertzfeldt and Hayao Miyazaki, your both still great.) so when I found out that he was going to release a new film, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, the first one in nearly fifteen years, I could not be happier. And when I found out that it was going to be his last one, and supposedly the last one by studio Ghibli, (which turned out to be false with the the release of When Marnie Was There, a film that everyone needs to check out.) I could not be sadder. But when I, at long last, saw The Tale of the Princess Kaguya I was more than satisfied with it.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is based of a 10th century Japanese myth called the tale of the bamboo cutter. Which is actually the oldest known Japanese story, there's something very marvelous in making your last film an adaptation of your cultures oldest story. In the story a humble childless bamboo cutter, (Voiced in the American dub of the film by James Caan.) who lives out in the mountains, and spends his days cutting down the bamboo trees, and spending time with his wife. One day the bamboo cutter cuts down a bamboo tree and a mysterious light shines from inside the tree and the bamboo cutter finds a strange small girl in the tree. (Voiced by Chloe Grace Moretz.) The bamboo cutter then takes the girl home to his wife and they decide to raise it as their own.
Supposedly The Tale of the Princess Kaguya was in production for eight years, and it shows. Not only is it the longest film Ghibli has ever produced, but every single frame in the film is absolutely awe-inspiring. I don't want to oversell the animation, but i think I can safely say that this might in fact be the best animation I've seen in any film ever up to this point. Don't get me wrong Spirited Away was immensely creative and detailed, and things like Akira and Fantasia were game changing, but there is a subtle and restrained beauty in The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, that I have never seen in any other film ever. Like all of the best animated films out there, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya creates its own world. And it's world is one of beautiful countrysides, crowded streets, empty lonely palaces, and most importantly whimsical magic. The animations subtle beauty does explode in some deeply emotional scenes, like in the flawlessly handled party scene, and the one immediately following it.
The film's perfect animation is greatly enhanced by its soundtrack. The score for The Tale of the Princess Kaguya was composed by Joe Hisaishi, who composed most of the Ghibli's films, but even with his impressive back catalog The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is some of his best work. The song "flying" from the soundtrack is enough to bring me to tears, and when you combine the song with the actual scene in the film, man there really is nothing else like it. And the lyrics to the Nursery Rhyme are simply touching. Between the animation and the soundtrack I would say that the best way to describe The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is that the film just oozes beauty.
The voice-acting is, well, on par with the soundtrack, animation and basically everything else in the film. Meaning it's beyond superb. Every single voice actor is at the top of their game. I should mention that I am talking about the English dub, the original Japanese dialogue is also great but I'm more familiar with the English dub, but in all honesty you can watch either and get the same effect. Typically when a film from a non-English speaking country gets released in an English speaking country, I would recommend watching the original dialogue, and to avoid any and all dubs, but that's not the case with Studio Ghibli. Disney owns the right to release Studio Ghibli films in America. So since they're Disney, when they release a Studio Ghibli film they get top quality actors to do the voices. And boy did they do a great job with The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. They're aren't many the big stars in The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, the biggest being Chloe Grace Moretz. But every single actor perfectly embodies they're character in a way that I've rarely seen done in animated film before this.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya was received well by critics, and was nominated for best animated feature by the academy awards in 2014, unfortunately it lost to Big Hero Six and while that's a decent film, the idea that Big Hero Six is anywhere near as good as The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is laughably and insultingly incorrect. The Tale of the Princess is one of the greatest animated films of all time, it's also one of the greatest films of the 2010s, if not they greatest for both of those categories. I really don't think I can recommend this film enough, everyone on this planet needs to see this film. It will never be possible for me, or anyone for that matter, to fully express this films beauty and quality in words, you just have to experience it for yourself. And please experience it as soon as possible.
10/10