The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)

This is an animation based on a book called ‘The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter’ , an old Japanese folktale. The tale unfolds as Princess Kaguya becomes a part of the life of the old Bamboo cutter and his wife after many heartbreaking moments starting in the country and ending in the

city where they move with her.

The moral of the story ‘The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter’ is that if you disobey orders you can lose everything warning people to stay in line and do as expected of you.. This is shown in the film as Princess Kaguya’s parents try to make her a high girl in society but all she wants is to be free. In the end she ends up being really unhappy and losing everything.

The film references how society was at that time and the huge split between poor people and the really wealthy. In the film you follow the life of one of princess Kaguya’s old friends, you see how they live in really poor conditions and have to steal for food.

This film also shows how if you are really wealthy and respected it doesn't necessarily make you happy if you are surrounded by people who you don’t love. We see this by looking at how Princess Kaguya becomes less happy as she becomes higher and higher and richer and richer in society.

In this film there are really heartbreaking moments of sadness (I cry every time) but also moments of full joy such as when she steals a melon from the field with her friends and they plan a meal together.Even though this film is sad It is a MUST see.This animation is beautifully crafted as it is really well drawn and the music is chosen really carefully to fit the mood of the film.

This film is a must see for any Studio Ghibli fan who doesn't mind a sad story. I think this film is aimed mostly at girls aged 11+ as both me and my Mum still really enjoy it.

For anyone who enjoys this film I would definitely recommend other studio Ghibli films such as ‘when Marnie was there’ although this is without a doubt one of my favorites.