Visually ravishing, Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata's Oscar-nominated animated adaptation of a 10th-century Japanese folk tale centers on Kaguya (voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz), princess of the Moon, who descends to Earth as a tiny, doll-like urchin, and is discovered in a bamboo stalk by an elderly woodsman (James Caan) who, along with his wife (Mary Steenburgen), raises the foundling. Kaguya undergoes sudden, inexplicable growth spurts, while still playing blissfully with an infatuated young huntsman (Darren Criss). But when Kaguya's adoptive father discovers another stalk containing gold and silken garments, he concludes that heaven intended his daughter to be treated as a princess. So the family moves to the capital, where news of her beauty attracts suitors of the highest class—whom Kaguya puts off by assigning them to seemingly impossible tasks—and matters turn darker when the emperor himself desires her. The tale offers many lessons regarding the pressure children feel to conform to parental expectations and social conventions, the cruel effect of societal categorization and gross materialism, and the ultimate impossibility of bridging the chasms between different worlds. But the film also captures the way human existence passes from milestone to milestone, as perceived by an outsider who cannot quite experience it all herself. Sporting luscious visuals with a luminously glowing watercolor effect, this is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the “making-of” documentary “Isao Takahata and His Tale of the Princess Kaguya” with the filmmaker (86 min.), a featurette on the announcement of the film's completion (40 min.), and trailers and TV spots. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for this Oscar-nominated entry from the renowned Studio Ghibli.] (F. Swietek)
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Universal, 138 min., PG, DVD: 2 discs, $29.98; Blu-ray/DVD Combo: 3 discs, $34.98, Feb. 17 Volume 30, Issue 2
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
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