THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA (2013)

Another entry the 2015 Oscars, this animated film is based on a 10th-century Japanese folk tale about a poor bamboo cutter who discovers one day - in a shining stalk of bamboo - the tiny figure of a girl.  sure she is a gift from heaven, the man takes her home to his wife, where she transforms into a newborn baby, and the childless couple decide to raise her as their own.  The little girl grows fast, too fast by normal human standards, and is already a young girl when her father also finds fine robes and garments in the bamboo forest, as well as many pieces of gold, and believes this is heaven's way of telling him to move to the capital so he can raise his daughter like the real princess she must be.  There, renamed Kaguya, the girl - growing quickly to young womanhood - excels in her learning and artistic skills, as well as charms everyone around her.  But a dark secret awaits, as Kaguya's fate - and her past - come to light.  A lyrical, bittersweet, beautifully-rendered film, hand-drawn and looking like a series of watercolors come to life. (rated PG)  B+

THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA trailer