There were more than a few raised eyebrows when 2014 Oscar nominations for feature animation didn’t include The LEGO Movie or The Book of Life. Instead, one of the available slots was filled by The Tale of Princess Kaguya co-directed by Isao Takahata. The Japanese director is no stranger to animation fans, however, as he’s been a part of Studio Ghibli for quite some time. His 1994 fantasy Pom Poko (the title shortened for stateside release) brings forth the strong comic and dramatic sides of the animator’s art with an environmental message woven through the narrative that certainly seems to come from the heart. Disney’s latest Studio Ghibli release offers the film in its original Japanese as well as with an English-language cast.
Studio: Disney
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA, French 2.0 DD, Other
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French
Rating: PG
Run Time: 1 Hr. 59 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray, DVD
keep case in a slipcoverDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: ABC
Release Date: 02/03/2015
MSRP: $36.99
The Production Rating: 4/5
Isao Takahata’s bittersweet screenplay (adapted from his own original story) trundles a bit throughout stretching the film to almost two hours, far too long for such a simple story though the film’s themes are never obscured and the filmmakers don’t shy away from violent confrontations despite the many lighter moments in the film’s first half. There are many forks along the road before we get to that sober final face-off between raccoons and man including a love story between Shokichi (Makoto Nonomura, Jonathan Taylor Thomas in English) and Okiyo (Yuriko Ishida, Jillian Bowen in English) and a lengthy middle period while the raccoons party while three transformation masters are sent for. In fact, the numerous parties the coons enjoy (the narration makes it clear they’d rather party than do anything else) might have been abbreviated to cut down on some of the running time. While the animation is always a joy to watch, the raccoon characters sometimes take on more the look of bears than coons. There’s a dazzling sequence where the raccoons who can transform into any object, animal, or human put on an elaborate charade to distract the humans from continuing with their destructive efforts, and a very drily humorous scene where two men getting drunker by the minute fail to notice any of the transformative raccoon shenanigans going on behind them. But in the main, the film’s strong message of environmental conservation sometimes gets a tiny bit lost due to the filmmakers’ desire to wow us with their expertise with pen and ink. Still, there’s a lovely moment at the end when the lovers, separated by their efforts at blending in with the times, have a happy reunion as the call of the wild proves too strong to resist.
The Japanese and English casts are both strong and effective. The English cast seems noticeably younger and more effervescent in their playing of the roles while the Japanese cast seems older and heavier, stressing the more serious qualities of the story and sometimes skimping on the lighter moments of comedy. Tops among the Japanese cast is Shigeru Izumiya as the warrior Gonta. He sounds as if he could leap from the recording booth onto a samurai stage with only a change of wardrobe. Maurice Lamarche’s English narration is sprightlier and more amusingly tongue-in-cheek than Shinchô Kokontei’s Japanese original, but something may have been lost on me in translation.
Video Rating: 5/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 4.5/5
Special Features Rating: 3/5
Promotional Materials (7:45, HD): two trailers and two short promotional films are presented in montage format.
Promo Trailers (HD): 101 Dalmatians, Inside Out, Big Hero 6.
DVD Copy: disc enclosed in the case.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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