Film review: The Tale of Princess Kaguya may be Isao Takahata's swansong at Studio Ghibli
Hayao Miyazaki has announced his retirement from feature filmmaking, but his Studio Ghibli co-founder and creative force Isao Takahata is still producing, despite being five years older.
THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA
Voiced by: Aki Asakura, Takeo Chii, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kengo Kora (Japanese version)
Director: Isao Takahata
Category: I (Japanese and Cantonese versions)
Hayao Miyazaki has announced his retirement from feature filmmaking, but his Studio Ghibli co-founder and creative force Isao Takahata is still producing, despite being five years older.
Still, the 78-year-old filmmaker is sending out signals that his latest offering The Tale of Princess Kaguya — his first directorial effort since 1999's My Neighbours the Yamadas — will be his cinematic swansong, something hinted at with the leave-takings in this hand-drawn anime, which are imbued with sweet sorrow and a sense of finality.
Takahata's retelling of the 10th-century folktale (considered to be Japan's oldest extant narrative) begins with an old bamboo cutter, Okina (voiced by Takeo Chii), finding a tiny being inside a shining stalk of bamboo. It transforms into a baby after he takes it home to show his wife, Ouna (Nobuko Miyamoto).
Dubbed Takenoko (Li'l Bamboo in the English subtitles) by the village kids because her rapid growth resembles that of bamboo, the "miraculous child" who Okina prefers to call Hime (princess) evolves into a girl with a zest for life, and a love of nature.
The early scenes in the village and nearby woods, where Takenoko largely spends her time with a boy named Sutemaru (Kengo Kora) and his ragtag "gang", are often fun and funny. They are what many expect animated films to be: family-friendly and filled with cute imagery.