The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

PG

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2 hr. 17 min.

Fantasy

Anime

List

100%

98 Reviews

Tomatometer

90%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A tiny nymph found inside a bamboo stalk grows into a beautiful and desirable young woman, who orders her suitors to prove their love by completing a series of near-impossible tasks.

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Critics Consensus

Boasting narrative depth, frank honesty, and exquisite visual beauty, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is a modern animated treasure with timeless appeal.

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Chase C

This whole movie is super super powerful, especially the ending

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

butterfly2507

it's a lovely movie but her father annoyed me so much at time lmao

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/10/24

Full Review

John E

Not really much plot, couldn't finish it

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/24

Full Review

Maíra S

This is an beautiful piece of art. The feeling you get at times is of being in one of those dreams where you can fly, while in other times is of being in a sleep paralysis. But the flying-like part still feels stronger. One of the most human movies I've ever seen. I might forget what happened in it, but I'm pretty sure I won't forget what I felt while watching it. This is art.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/02/24

Full Review

Alec B

The animation is just beautiful but more importantly the story is a surprisingly frank and mature fairy tale about accepting mortality.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/10/23

Full Review

Thanh Trc T

I think this is the film that parents and their children should watch together to narrow the generation gap.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/09/23

Full Review

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Isao Takahata

Director

Chloë Grace Moretz

The Princess Kaguya

James Caan

The Bamboo Cutter

Mary Steenburgen

The Bamboo Cutter's Wife

Darren Criss

Sutemaru

Lucy Liu

Lady Sagami

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

A poignant gem, very different in tone to the director's most celebrated works, Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday, but no less worthy of praise and admiration.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 22, 2015

Full Review

Tara Brady

Irish Times

The impression is of a continuous series of watercolours, similar to the narrative scroll revealed to Kaguya in a key scene.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 20, 2015

Full Review

Andrew Osmond

Sight & Sound

While the characters feel very simplified at times, there are scenes that put great weight on performance and subtle expressions, in a way that's nearer to the classical Disney tradition than most Japanese animation.

Mar 20, 2015

Full Review

Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

This is anime-as-arthouse cinema, thoughtfully and gracefully composed.

Rated: 10/10

Nov 29, 2023

Full Review

Jordan Brooks

Vague Visages

As in many Studio Ghibli films before it, the male director is speaking directly to his male audience, pleading with them to treat the women in their lives with the respect and equality they deserve.

Aug 1, 2023

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

[Filmmaker Isao] Takahata embraces the sketchy, impressionistic, painterly qualities of animation being displaced by CGI.

Aug 19, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

A tiny nymph found inside a bamboo stalk grows into a beautiful and desirable young woman, who orders her suitors to prove their love by completing a series of near-impossible tasks.

Director: Isao Takahata
Executive Producer: Frank Marshall, Yoshiaki Nishimura, Yoshio Okubo
Screenwriter: Isao Takahata, Riko Sakaguchi
Distributor: GKIDS
Production Co: Studio Ghibli
Rating: PG (Thematic Elements|Some Violent Action|Partial Nudity)
Genre: Fantasy, Anime
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 17, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 14, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $681.1K

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