Terrific news for our local Studio Ghibli fans: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya opens today in Minneapolis, courtesy of the MN Film Society and the St. Anthony Main Theater. Isao Takahata's latest masterpiece has received rave reviews from critics and moviegoers during its limited theatrical run in the US. It currently holds a perfect 100% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and appears to be a lock for an Academy Awards nomination for Best Animated Feature. It won't win, of course (The Lego Movie is the runaway favorite), but this may Hollywood's last opportunity to heap praise on Studio Ghibli's legendary founders.
I will be attending this weekend, probably tomorrow. If there are any Ghibli Blog fans in attendance, please stop by and say hello. Families who are sick and tired of their children singing "Frozen" songs are strongly encouraged to attend. For any lover of animation, Princess Kaguya is the movie event of the year, full stop.
2014 has been an outstanding year for Isao Takahata fans. The Tale of Princess Kaguya played on the big screen; Horus, Prince of the Sun finally arrived on DVD; Heidi, Girl of the Alps finally saw a completed fan translation. If your only exposure to Paku-san is through Grave of the Fireflies, you are in for a special treat. And this is on top of Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises, the 1980 Princess Mononoke book, and a stack of Ghibli Blu-Ray movies waiting to be enjoyed.
Enjoy this moment while you can, Ghibli Freaks. You will not see the likes of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata again. Do whatever you can to see this movie on the big screen.
PS: A fun bit trivia: The St. Anthony Main was my main movie hangout when living at the University of Minnesota. This was where I rushed to see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace back in 1999. Saw it four times, in fact...and, yes, that's despite having to endure Jar Jar Binks throughout it all. For my generation, the idea of "a new Star Wars movie" achieved a mythic grandeur, almost like the Second Coming. We never expected it to happen, but always hoped and prayed. Perhaps that's why I'm more generous towards those Star Wars prequels, so often derided by the hardcore fans. Oh, well, I've always thought "hardcore fan" was a paradox.
4 comments:
Will you be wearing a name tag or something?!
"The Tale of the Princess Mononoke" - Is this a prequel?
I'm annoyed I can find almost zero information on whether this film is coming to UK cinemas.
Yeah, my dyslexia is awesome. Don't know why I didn't spot that immediately. Hah!
I just saw this film in theatres. I was completely blown away by it. A visually striking, but thoughtful film. I think this is one Studio Ghibli's finest. I won't write any spoilers here, other than to say, wow, that ending. There's a lot to talk about with this film....
I was fairly unfamiliar with the original Bamboo Cutter folk tale, but after reading a synopsis on Wikipedia about common variations of the story, it is extremely interesting how Takahata interpreted it. And his own commentary on Japanese culture. I hope animation and Ghibli fans don't overlook this one.
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