--- title: "The Tale of The Princess Kaguya: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya" critics_score: 80 critics_reviews: 25 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013): what the critics said Critics' score 80 from 25 reviews: 22 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics admire this film, and the praise gathers around its look. Reviewers describe hand-drawn animation in watercolour and charcoal, in the manner of Japanese brush painting, with soft colours and loose, sketchy lines that leave the world looking fragile. Takahata’s direction is credited with giving an old folk tale real feeling: a foundling girl pressed into a life she does not want, read by several critics as a story about what is done to young women in the name of expectation. Many note that the sadness arrives slowly and lands hard. The reservations are about length and pace, chiefly the middle section, in which the princess waits on her suitors. Even warm reviews call it too long. The Guardian and Sight and Sound find it drags badly there, and the Radio Times thinks it a little dull and too melancholy for young children. Otherwise the spread is narrow, with most reviews sitting close together near the top. ## RogerEbert.com — Glenn Kenny Rating 4/4. 17 October 2014. The film is a staggering masterpiece of animation based on an old Japanese folk tale. It 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. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-tale-of-princess-kaguya-2014) ## The AV Club — David Ehrlich Rating A. 16 October 2014. A devastating and deceptively simple tale that delivers an emotional wallop on par with Grave of the Fireflies and stands as one of Studio Ghibli’s finest achievements. It matures alongside its heroine with astonishingly beautiful charcoal-and-watercolor animation and a broad humanism that empathizes with objectified women. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/studio-ghibli-delivers-a-new-masterpiece-with-the-tale-1798181617) ## Empire — Dan Jolin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 February 2015. The film is a unique, beautiful and endlessly fascinating work of art. It stands out for its soul-soaringly beautiful hand-drawn, sketchy watercolour visuals that contrast with Hollywood CG animation. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/tale-princess-kaguya-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 October 2014. The film is a marvel of Japanese animation, a hand-drawn, painterly epic that submerges us in a world of beauty. The delicacy and grace of its sublime imagery create an impact that couldn’t be stronger; it is a parable about what matters in life and what does not. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-tale-princess-kaguya-review-20141017-column.html) ## Slant Magazine — Elise Nakhnikian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 October 2014. The soft colors, graceful movements, and clean lines embody the ineffable beauty of life on Earth. The film offers a potent feminist critique of traditional expectations for girls through the heroine’s transformation and the spiritual costs of forcing conformity on children. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya/) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 22 March 2014. The film 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. It takes hand-drawn animation to new heights of fluidity, inspired by Eastern brush painting. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2014/film/asia/film-review-japanese-b-o-hit-the-tale-of-princess-kaguya-1201140562/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 17 October 2014. A magical and melancholy gentler work whose expansive sadness sneaks up on the viewer. Its austere, simple hand-drawn animation creates a fragile, impermanent world that laments loss while celebrating humanity, with a refined sense of metaphor. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2014/10/movie-review-the-tale-of-princess-kaguya-studio-ghibli.html) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 9 June 2015. Takahata has created a ravishing, technically perfect product filled with tender, humorous details in its hand-drawn watercolour scenes. The gentle daring of this offering makes it all the harder to say goodbye, despite the film being slightly too long. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-tale-of-princess-kaguya-film-review-10122174.html) ## Little White Lies — Anton Bitel Rating 4/4/4. 11 March 2015. The critic praises the vibrant, bittersweet feminist adaptation of the folk tale and its undeniable visual beauty while noting the excessive length and ponderous pacing as flaws. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/tale-princess-kaguya) ## The New York Times — Nicolas Rapold Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 October 2014. The film finds a peculiarly moving undertow of feeling in a venerable Japanese folk tale about a foundling country girl who can’t shake a sense of being out of place. The critic notes the director’s artistry and feeling for the main character are deeply felt. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/movies/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya-from-isao-takahata.html) ## Time Out — Alex Dudok de Wit Rating 4/5. 17 March 2015. The critic calls it a delicate, muted film steeped in folklore that offers an achingly nostalgic meditation on love, age and departure from the world, though it demands patience. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Leslie Felperin Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 25 May 2014. Festival review. A lovely piece of work adapting the Japanese folk tale of a magical child who grows into an independent-minded princess. It showcases Takahata’s flair for expressing movement in standout sequences and explores themes of family norms versus self-expression. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/tale-princess-kaguya-kaguya-hime-707037/) ## Radio Times — Leslie Felperin Rating 3/5. The critic notes the exemplary draughtsmanship and some exquisite sequences but finds the film overlong, a little dull and narratively alienating, with a melancholy ending unsuitable for younger children. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-bbuo1w/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 19 March 2015. The film is a labour of love that looks amazing in its hand-painted style but drags in the middle section as the princess waits for suitors. Lush imagery offers consolation but the narrative feels too constrained until its moving final movements. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/19/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya-review-lush-imagery) ## Sight and Sound — Andrew Osmond Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 20 March 2015. The critic describes a delicate post-pastoral fairytale epic but finds it overly long and leisurely paced, especially in its mid-section dealing with suitors. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-tale-princess-kaguya) ## Den of Geek — Ryan Lambie Rating 5/5. 16 March 2015. The critic calls it an ambitious, personal Studio Ghibli classic with a loose, expressive pencil-and-ink animation style. The film is praised as a moving allegory about the brevity and joy of life, with a heartfelt ending and sincerity that makes it almost heartbreaking. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya-review/) ## HeyUGuys — Gloria Daniels-Moss Rating 5/5. 13 March 2015. Takahata delivers a touching tale of love and loss with breathtakingly beautiful, abstract animation that mixes pastel watercolors and pencil etchings. The story balances deep sadness with moments of humor and visual splendor. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-tale-of-princess-kaguya-review/) ## Consequence Rating A-. 5 December 2014. The film is an exquisitely drawn fable that blends joy and melancholy while highlighting simpler pleasures and the pains of societal expectations. Its minimalist Japanese aesthetic and patient storytelling make it one of the year’s finest animated works. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2014/12/film-review-the-tale-of-princess-kaguya/) ## Paste — Geoff Berkshire Rating 9.0. 23 October 2014. Takahata delivers a defiantly idiosyncratic masterwork whose hand-drawn watercolor and charcoal animation achieves timeless beauty while advancing a message about a woman’s right to choose her own path. The leisurely pace and mature themes make it rewarding for adult viewers seeking something beyond typical animation fare. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/article/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating A-. 14 October 2014. Festival review. The film is a rich and rewarding, gorgeously impressionistic hand-drawn work with a strong feminist tone and meditations on mortality. It is meditatively paced with a slightly repetitive middle section but remains charming and experimental. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-studio-ghiblis-rich-and-rewarding-the-tale-of-princess-kaguya-20141014/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 October 2014. The critic calls the film an exquisite hand-drawn animated marvel and an instant Oscar contender that puts civilization on trial in an epic pastoral tale. They single out the confident watercolor animation that vividly brings the natural world and childhood miracles to life. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-tale-of-princess-kaguya-review-chloe-grace-moretz-james-caan-darren-criss/) ## Eye for Film — Owen Van Spall Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 15 March 2015. The film offers a relatable, compassionately told story of youthful desire versus duty with exquisite, brushstroke-like animation that appeals to adults and younger viewers alike. It has real emotional heft but runs a little long at nearly two-and-a-half hours. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/tale-of-princess-kaguya-2013-film-review-by-owen-van-spall) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B. 17 October 2014. The critic finds the film an enchanting folktale that celebrates nature through its distinctive sumi-e animation style and emotional depth. A minor complaint is an abrupt, under-setup revelation late in the story that briefly disrupts the flow. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-tale-of-princess-kaguya-review/) ## NME — Nick Levine Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 18 March 2015. The review describes a warm and charming animated adventure with gorgeous hand-drawn visuals and a wistful score that keeps the folk-tale story engaging. It notes unexpected sad and strange turns but highlights the film’s nomination-worthy qualities. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-various-artists-15987-317362) ## Digital Spy — Simon Reynolds Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 March 2015. Takahata’s return is seen as a memorable, visually stunning addition to the Ghibli canon with elegant watercolour animation and a moving Hisaishi score. It is rewarding for fans despite some narrative drag and not quite matching the heights of the director’s earlier masterpieces. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a635065/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya-review-rewarding-for-studio-ghibli-fans/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya.md