GKIDS Nab Another Ghibli with Takahata’s The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

It’s been far too long since legendary animator Isao Takahata sat at the helm of a feature length picture. Fourteen years since My Neighbors the Yamadas hit theaters, Hayao Miyazaki’s partner and co-founder of Studio Ghibli had his long awaited follow-up, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, premiere in Japan back in November of last year to critical claim and awe at the stylistic deviance from Ghibli’s normative in-house aesthetic. Today, GKIDS announced that they will be handling all theatrical and home release North American distribution rights for the English version of the film, which is being produced by Studio Ghibli and Geoffrey Wexler, with Frank Marshall of Kennedy/Marshall Executive Producing, the same team who dubbed both The Wind Rises and From Up On Poppy Hill. GKIDS is planning for a late 2014 theatrical release, just in time for awards season submissions.

Gist: Blending the loose visual style of My Neighbors the Yamadas with a water-colored simplicity akin to the soon to be released Ernest & Celestine, the film is the untold story of The Princess Kaguya, the heroine of the ancient Japanese folktale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.

Worth Noting: Though Takahata’s name is sometimes eclipsed by that of his partner, let’s not forget that he is the man behind some of Studio Ghibli’s greatest films, Pom Poko, Grave of the Fireflies, which may be one of the very best films on the casualties of war, animated or not. Also, GKIDS has been doing a fantastic job with their handling of recent Oscar nominees like The Secret of Kells, A Cat in Paris, Chico & Rita, and Ernest & Celestine, not to mention the Ghibli title From Up On Poppy Hill from last year.

Do We Care? Obviously. Any film drafted by the masters at Studio Ghibli will always have our interest piqued, but it’s an event that Takahata has resurfaced with what looks to be the most stylistically disparate picture the studio has made in over a decade. Below, you’ll find an extended Japanese trailer that highlights exactly what we’re talking about.