Studio Ghibli recently surprised the world by releasing hundreds of high resolution screenshots from their catalog films into the public "within the realm of accepted practice." It's a tremendously generous move and one that I hope fans will embrace. I know it certainly makes my work much easier, and I do wish the studio had supplied these art assets to animation websites ages ago. It's a pity that blogs are virtually extinct in 2020, but what can you do? Time marches on, kids.
Anyway, here are some excellent screenshots from Isao Takahata's final masterwork, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Given that I am such a fan of his work, you would think that I've watched this movie at least a hundred times by now. But I've only watched it once, at the St. Anthony Main theater in Minneapolis during its short US theatrical run. It was shown in one of the smaller rooms, about half the size as their regular auditoriums, but it's ideal for smaller indie or foreign movies. Thankfully, there were many people present to enjoy and marvel in this gorgeous, otherworldly work of art.
I still say Princess Kaguya is the best animated feature of this century. Honestly, nothing else comes close, and that includes Hayao Miyazaki's movies. Paku-san was a genius and this final opus serves as the perfect capstone to his brilliant career.
