The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

The Bamboo Cutter (Caan) sees a glowing bamboo stalk and finds a tiny girl.  He takes her home to his Wife (Steenburgen) and they are astonished as the girl grows into a baby and begins rapidly aging.  They name her Princess (Moretz).  Princess quickly befriends the local boys and grows especially close to Sutemaru (Criss).  Worried that she is becoming too wild, her parents move her to a palace in the city.

In the city, Lady Sagami (Liu) teaches her to be a refined lady.  She charms everyone she encounters, and soon suitors line the streets to win her hand.  All she wants to do is run through fields, can she avoid her fate?


I watched this film because it is nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated film.  I had previously heard about the film through other film blogs.  I am not too familiar with the animation of Studio Ghibli, who produced this film: this is my second film, the first being Princess Mononoke.

It is a beautiful film.  The animation is stunning, especially towards the end of the film.  And the story is interesting, although it does take a little to get into it, and some parts seemed to drag along.

I watched the English dubbed version, featuring the cast below.  The cast was good and didn't take away from the film.

I don't know enough about animation, or about the style, or about the Studio Ghibli films... and while this film is good, it doesn't spur me to find out more about any of these.


The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) 137 minutes
Director: Isao Takahata
Starring: Chole Grace Moretz as Princess Kaguya
James Caan as The Bamboo Cutter
Mary Steenburgen as The Bamboo Cutter's Wife / Narrator
Darren Criss as Sutemaru
Lucy Liu as Lady Sagami
Beau Bridges as Prince Kuramochi
James Marsden as Prince Ishitsukuri
Oliver Platt as Lord Minister of the Right Abe
Hynden Walch as Me no Warawa
Dean Cain as The Mikado
Daniel Dae Kim as Grand Counselor Otomo
George Segal as Inbe no Akita
John Cho as Middle Counselor Isonokami