The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
GKIDS | Release Date: October 17, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
89
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerNov 21, 2014
This delicate, hand-drawn marvel is lyrical and heartbreaking in ways that most live-action movies never approach. Read full review
100
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriOct 17, 2014
Magical and melancholy, The Tale of Princess Kaguya comes from the other mad genius of Studio Ghibli, Isao Takahata, who co-founded the beloved Japanese animation company alongside the great Hayao Miyazaki back in 1985. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranOct 16, 2014
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is a marvel of Japanese animation, a hand-drawn, painterly epic that submerges us in a world of beauty. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyOct 16, 2014
The Tale of Princess Kaguya is both very simple and head-spinningly confounding, a thing of endless visual beauty that seems to partake in a kind of pictorial minimalism but finds staggering possibilities for beautiful variation within its ineluctable modality. It’s a true work of art. Read full review
100
The A.V. ClubDavid EhrlichOct 15, 2014
A devastating and deceptively simple tale adapted from 10th-century folklore, Isao Takahata’s The Tale Of Princess Kaguya distills a millennium of Japanese storytelling into a timeless film that feels both ancient and alive in equal measure. Read full review
100
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinAug 22, 2014
It’s a lovely piece of work. Read full review
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinAug 22, 2014
Emotions and moods are anchored to specific moments of stillness, and we feel them all the more intensely because of it. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianMarc MohanOct 23, 2014
At over two hours, it might test the patience of some younger viewers (and some impatient older ones as well), but for anyone willing to take the time, it's an utter treat. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyJoe McGovernOct 16, 2014
Glacially told gem from animator Isao Takahata, the 78-year-old cofounder with Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. Read full review
91
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonAug 22, 2014
It's a remarkably gorgeous piece of work. Read full review
90
TheWrapInkoo KangOct 24, 2014
An exquisite, hand-drawn marvel and an alternatingly jubilant and heartrending epic pastoral. Read full review
90
VarietyMaggie LeeAug 22, 2014
The Tale of Princess Kaguya is a visionary tour de force, morphing from a childlike gambol into a sophisticated allegory on the folly of materialism and the evanescence of beauty. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenOct 29, 2014
This folk tale about a magical child has even been cited by some scholars as an early and elegant work of science fiction. However, it’s also possible to bypass all this baggage and just approach The Tale of Princess Kaguya as the gorgeous and expressive film that it is. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsDec 4, 2014
It's good for the soul, and composer Joe Hisaishi's themes are so right they sound as if they came straight out of the ground with the girl in the bamboo. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrNov 13, 2014
It’s a gentle epic, based on a 10th-century Japanese folk tale, that uses pencils, ink, and impressionistic washes of color to convey a glowing visual otherworld, one that stands in contrast both to Takahata’s earlier work and the hard-edged lines and bright tones of much anime. Read full review
88
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 30, 2014
A gorgeous, magical and melancholy fantasia about the joy and pain of human existence. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianOct 14, 2014
The soft colors, graceful movements, and clean lines together embody the ineffable beauty of life on Earth that is one of the film's main themes. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonAlex Dudok de WitMar 17, 2015
Notwithstanding the fairytale set-up, this is not exactly a children’s film. ‘Kaguya’ demands patience and open-mindedness. In return, it offers an achingly nostalgic meditation on what it means to love, age and depart from this world with dignity. A fitting farewell. Read full review
80
EmpireDan JolinMar 16, 2015
Unique, beautiful and endlessly fascinating. It really is a work of art. Read full review
80
Total FilmJamie GrahamMar 16, 2015
Over-long, but a work of great artistry and emotion. As the woodcutter says upon finding our heroine: “A gift from heaven”. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 23, 2014
It's the best kind of fairy tale — tough, deep and meaningful, with a heroine who stays true to herself in spite of shallow temptations. Read full review
80
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldOct 16, 2014
Exquisitely drawn with both watercolor delicacy and a brisk sense of line, the film finds a peculiarly moving undertow of feeling in a venerable Japanese folk tale. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsGraham FullerOct 16, 2014
This adaptation of a 10th-century folk tale is less sumptuous than Ghibli maestro Hiyao Miyazaki’s surreal classics, yet it’s also more affecting than most of them. An allegory about the irrecoverable joys of childhood, it may make parents hug their kids now. Read full review
80
The DissolveNoel MurrayOct 14, 2014
Throughout The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya, even when it gets bogged down in too much story, the animation is so gorgeous that any given frame could pass for a masterwork. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesMary HoulihanDec 4, 2014
It’s the beautiful and breathtaking animation that gives The Tale of the Princess Kaguya a luster that is both simple and sophisticated. Once again the visionary Takahata and Studio Ghibli prove that great animation is not just for kids, but can be universal in its reach. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreNov 4, 2014
An old fashioned Japanese folk tale beautifully rendered in old-fashioned hand-drawn animation. Read full review
70
Village VoiceSherilyn ConnellyOct 16, 2014
The original story was called "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," but Takahata's title puts the focus where it belongs. Read full review
60
CineVueBen NicholsonSep 10, 2014
Taking Eastern watercolours as inspiration, the aesthetic is impressionistic and painterly with a fluidity that imbues the piece with an intrinsic magic. Read full review
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