In an effort to draw in audiences for the November 23rd debut after so much attention was focused on The Wind Rises, the first six minutes of Princess Kaguya are now available online to check out in all its animated glory. The Isao Takahata film has had a mild promotional campaign in the months before its release as we’ve had a variety of images come out and a few promotional videos and commercials, but it’s certainly been obscured by how The Wind Rises was released. The film is directed by Isao Takahata based on the story of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, which has been animated and retold many times over the years.
Takahata’s not quite the name that Miyazaki is – and there’s been tension between this film and The Wind Rises during production as The Princess Kaguya drew more skilled animators to it with a larger budget overall, but Takahata has done some of what many consider are the best works out there, including Grave of the Fireflies and for me, My Neighbors the Yamada’s and Pom Poko. Takahata has not directed a fill feature since My Neighbors the Yamada’s, which was considered one of the lower performing films under Studio Ghibli.