This film takes its time. It's slow paced to a fault and at over 2 hours, well out stays its welcome.
The story is meandering, convoluted and doesn't make efficient use of the visual medium to deliver information, rather it feels more like listening to a slowly narrated audio book whilst flicking through some nice illustrations. I was intensely bored by most of it, despite the undeniable charm of some of the animation, I felt there wasn't any effort to engage the viewer on a deeper level with more dynamic film language or snappier, cleverer story telling.
You can say that Japanese story structure is fundamentally different from Western methods, often employing a 'watch the grass grow' approach that celebrates silence, ritual and mood over Pixar's noisy barrage of constant challenges. I have found that difference to be quite refreshing in other films like "Spirited Away" and "Princess Mononoke" but "Kaguya", in comparison really lacked engaging characters and virtually any moments of dynamic tension.
The art style in my opinion isn't terribly good compensation for this. While there are moments of exquisite gestural animation - the sequence where the princess rushes through the woods leaving a trail of fluttering garments in her wake, is gorgeous- overall the character designs are rather crude, pale and ugly, looking more like rough pencil sketches than the refined, noble and highly graphic woodblock prints they appear to emulate.
It's a shame, I really wanted to love "Kaguya", but I don't think I could sit through it again.
The story is meandering, convoluted and doesn't make efficient use of the visual medium to deliver information, rather it feels more like listening to a slowly narrated audio book whilst flicking through some nice illustrations. I was intensely bored by most of it, despite the undeniable charm of some of the animation, I felt there wasn't any effort to engage the viewer on a deeper level with more dynamic film language or snappier, cleverer story telling.
You can say that Japanese story structure is fundamentally different from Western methods, often employing a 'watch the grass grow' approach that celebrates silence, ritual and mood over Pixar's noisy barrage of constant challenges. I have found that difference to be quite refreshing in other films like "Spirited Away" and "Princess Mononoke" but "Kaguya", in comparison really lacked engaging characters and virtually any moments of dynamic tension.
The art style in my opinion isn't terribly good compensation for this. While there are moments of exquisite gestural animation - the sequence where the princess rushes through the woods leaving a trail of fluttering garments in her wake, is gorgeous- overall the character designs are rather crude, pale and ugly, looking more like rough pencil sketches than the refined, noble and highly graphic woodblock prints they appear to emulate.
It's a shame, I really wanted to love "Kaguya", but I don't think I could sit through it again.