This is the film you show your kids when you want them to understand that animation isn't just a genre—it's a medium capable of profound artistry. Takahata's final masterpiece is visually stunning, emotionally rich, and thematically complex in ways that respect young viewers' capacity for deep feeling.

The watercolor animation alone is worth the watch—it's revolutionary, like watching a living scroll painting. But the story delivers too: a folktale about a moon princess who experiences the messy, beautiful chaos of being human, only to have it all taken away. It's heartbreaking, yes, but in a way that builds emotional literacy rather than traumatizing.

The main barrier is pacing. This is a 137-minute film that breathes, lingers, and trusts its audience to sit with stillness. Modern kids raised on rapid-cut editing may fidget. But for families willing to meet it on its own terms, this is a generational watch—the kind of film that stays with you and deepens over time.