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While Hayao Miyazaki might be retiring (or might not… conflicting reports still haven’t cleared the entire situation up), Studio Ghibli was seen as being stuck in a limbo. To be fair, while Miyazaki was the driving force that made Studio Ghibli the purveyor of family Japanese animation films, there are still other animators and directors on staff that have received their own critical acclaim and success, just not at the level Miyazaki has. One such director is Isao Takahata, and if his next film is as good as his previous films Grave of the Fireflies (one of my personal favorites) and Pom Poko (an underrated classic), Studio Ghibli fans will be in for a treat.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya follows a classic Japanese folktale about a bamboo cutter and his wife finding a young princess. The English dub will feature James Caan (The Godfather), Mary Steenburgen (The Help), and Chloe Grace Moretz (The Equalizer) in the lead roles. What I find most compelling about the film is its art style. It’s completely hand-drawn, which is more of a rarity in animation these days than you might think, but also features a sketchbook, crayon-esque look that certainly lends itself well to the film’s classic tale.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya will be in theaters on October 17th. You can read the film’s official synopsis below:
Legendary Studio Ghibli cofounder Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies, Pom Poko) revisits Japan’s most famous folktale in this gorgeous, hand-drawn masterwork, decades in the making. Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter (James Caan) and his wife (Mary Steenburgen), a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady (Chloë Grace Moretz). The mysterious young princess enthralls all who encounter her – but ultimately she must confront her fate, the punishment for her crime.