Cosmic Princess Kaguya!
Ever since she was a toddler, I have enjoyed watching age-appropriate Japanese anime movies and series with my 7-year-old granddaughter. I’ve always loved animated films, and I think I have helped foster my granddaughter’s appreciation of quality that many anime possess.
Will I recommend she watch Cosmic Princess Kaguya!?
Probably not.
It’s gorgeous to look at, and the two main characters are solid, with distinct personalities, but the overall movie is too long. There are too many repetitive and boring fight scenes in the spectacularly visualized virtual world. The music is uninspiring, and there are too many underdeveloped characters and plot threads.
Were I to recommend an even more spectacularly animated but much more tightly plotted animated feature film with strong characters and story, I’d go with the recent Korean film Lost in Starlight. For a fantastical story set against the highways and urban landscapes of modern Japan — Suzume. Or, for a more traditional take (both artistically and story-wise) on the Japanese folk tale about the moon princess come to Earth, Isao Takahata’s The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
So I am not going to recommend Cosmic Princess Kaguya. I think my granddaughter will end up being bored, as I was.
Review copyright © 2026 by Dennis D. McDonald
