The concept of “fairy tales, but for adults” has had something of a heyday this millennium. We’ve seen ostensibly-for-kids-but-winking-at-adults comedies like Shrek and gritty reboots like Maleficent, and you could even say that Disney’s live-action remakes are an attempt to give the cartoon-averse adult an excuse to revisit an old fairy tale.
Very few films, however, actually keep the spirit of a fairy tale while also making a mature movie for mature audiences. More explicitly than most media, fairy tales teach us lessons. A fairy tale “for adults” doesn’t need crass humor or political machinations — it needs a lesson that fits its audience. |
The only film I can think of that fits this description is The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. (If, like me, you’ve never heard the name spoken out loud, it’s KAH-goo-ya, not ka-GOO-ya.) Of course, complex and uncommon messages are Studio Ghibli’s bread and butter, so it should come as no surprise that they succeeded in making a true fairy tale for adults. It’s based on “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,” one of Japan’s oldest known stories, and it preserves the structure and logic of a fairy tale while taking it to new emotional heights.
Released in 2013, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya was the last film directed by the late Isao Takahata. As far as I can tell, it essentially sticks to the bones of its source material, but breathes an impressive amount of life and character into the story. That story concerns a couple who live in the countryside, making a humble living cutting bamboo. One day, the husband finds a magical baby girl who grows (supernaturally) quickly into a young child. She (Kaguya, although that name doesn’t come up for some time) loves the countryside, and her parents love her and take good care of her — but eventually her father decides that this heaven-sent child deserves better and relocates the family to the capitol, where Kaguya chafes under the constraints of high society. |
The story seems to be following a typical fairy-tale path, but takes a pretty incredible swerve near the end, which I was surprised to learn was pulled directly from the original story. More about that in the Spoiler Zone! But here I’ll say that, like that other animation studio that adapts fairy tales into major motion pictures, Studio Ghibli does an excellent job here of taking the high-level storytelling of a fairy tale and filling in the blank spaces with charming and beautiful details.
Visually, the film is a clear successor to Takahata’s prior film, My Neighbors the Yamadas — only instead of mimicking the feel of newspaper comics, Princess Kaguya is rendered like a watercolor painting, to mesmerizing effect. Similarly to both The Yamadas and Pom Poko, Takahata varies the level of detail on screen to suit the moment. Blissful moments under falling cherry blossoms are rendered in beautiful detail, whereas a breathtaking frantic escape has details stripped away until it’s nearly abstract. The film is a sight to behold, innovative and beautiful. |
Thematically, it’s closer to Only Yesterday than The Yamadas. There are plenty of moments of joy — Kaguya is an extremely adorable baby, and there’s some satisfying folk-tale turnabout moments — but overall, the story tends more towards melancholy. Our characters learn their lessons, but it’s too little and too late, leaving the audience with a solemn reminder to appreciate what you have here and now. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya wants you to realize that happiness is not found in the absence of strife, but in accepting and overcoming it.
That may seem like a rough message, but then, this is a fairy tale for adults. Up Next: It’s the last Ghibli movie! (As of 1/23/2020, anyway.) When Marnie Was There marks the return of Hiromasa Yonebayashi, director of the splendid Secret World of Arrietty. Let’s see if he can stick the landing on his sophomore project! Stray Notes:
SPOILER ZONE Okay, so, with like 30 minutes of movie left, Kaguya remembers that she’s actually from the moon. Specifically, from a city of moon dwellers, who are now on their way to take her back, because she unwittingly used her moon powers to thwart a persistent suitor. The moon people arrive on a flying cloud, led by what looked to me like a representation of Buddha, which raised a lot of questions on my end about whether Buddha lives on the moon. Anyway, the moon people easily bypass the army protecting Kaguya and put a cloak on her that makes her forget her entire earth life. It’s heartbreaking, and that’s where the movie ends. Like I said — the message for me was to appreciate what you have; Kaguya essentially laments that she was so focused on the things she didn’t like about city life that she made herself miserable during the short time she had here. It’s a complicated message — are we not supposed to stand up for ourselves and better our situations? — but that’s intentional. |