Includes a loose retelling (in children's play form) of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, around which the plot of the film is based as well— narrated in voiceover by none other than Pat Morita!
Big Bird (Caroll Spinney) and Barkley (Brian Muehl) inexplicably find themselves on a tour to Japan, led by an extremely efficient docent who sticks to the schedule in all things! When Big Bird and Barkley disembark on a busy Tokyo street and get too distracted by the "people from Ohio with black hair," their tour bus leaves without them! A couple more social faux-pas from our tall, childlike friend lead to a surprisingly deep, dark well of emotion.
Fortunately, along comes a helpful young Japanese woman (Maiko Kawakami), who seems to just appear out of nowhere, who is also on a journey home from Japan. But if she's not from Japan, where can she be from...?
Contains examples of the following:
- Asian Lion Dogs: Some of the 'ferocious gods and goddesses' Barkley is frightened of at Sanjusangendo Temple look like these.
- All Myths Are True: Kaguya-hime is actually the Bamboo Princess of myth! Unfortunately...
- Ambiguous Situation: Was Big Bird really just being a child with a short attention span as he's usually played, when he decided he didn't believe in Kaguya-hime being the Bamboo Princess, or were his memories erased, like hers were in the original story?
- Bittersweet Ending: Big Bird doesn't see Kaguya-hime's ascension, dismisses his thoughts about his friend, and to this day remains unaware that both the princess and mysterious girl he met are one and the same, but Barkley knows the truth. But the good news is, he had a great time in Japan with her, having reunited with Barkley and returning to his tour, and the film ends with him back on the plane heading for home after all the fun he had.
- BSoD Song: "Moon, Moon," sung by Kaguya-hime, a beautiful song about how she is both deathly afraid of embracing her destiny and sadly resigned to it.
- But Now I Must Go: As in the original tale, on the 15th of the month, at the full moon, Kaguya-hime is met by her embassy of guards from the Moon Palace and taken back to the moon, her memories erased, symbolized by the black and white shift of Kaguya-hime and her entourage as they walk away.
- Cerebus Syndrome: While there are a few moments of sorrow and angst earlier on, we really feel the pressure when we finally learn about Kaguya-hime's origin and her destiny. Big Bird seems largely oblivious, up until "Moon, Moon".
- Character Development: Big Bird grows from being paralyzed with fear and sorrow at the thought of never going home to see his friends, to never wanting to leave Japan or his new friend.
- Culture Clash: The Language Barrier is just the beginning, though steps are taken to alleviate this.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Though to hear it from Big Bird, all's well that ends well - still, the fact remains that while he does get to go home, he's lost his Japanese best friend, and perhaps all memory of her as well.
- Easy Amnesia: If we can use the sudden Color Failure as a visual guide, then when Kaguya-hime is retrieved by her embassy, she loses her memories along with gaining her jūnihitoe, just like in the original tale.
- Edutainment Show: Besides being enjoyable on its own, it also gives information about Japanese culture, a few important words and even a bit of mythology.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: While on their way back to the tour, Big Bird realize that Kaguya-hime is the Bamboo Princess and he and Barkley rush off to find her. When they arrived just seconds after Kaguya-hime was taken back by the guards, they couldn't find her and then realize the idea of her being the actual Bamboo Princess was just silly.
- Face Plant: In trying to show extra Japanese Politeness to the Shimizu grandparents, Big Bird bows so low to the ground that he falls flat on his face. Everyone is delighted that he has learned to bow so well.
- Fake Food: Big Bird does not realize that the food in the restaurant display window is just for show, despite the longsuffering waiter trying to explain it to him through the Language Barrier. Eventually the waiter gives up and lets him try to eat it, but also brings him the actual food selections instead.
- Flash Step: A power that Kaguya-hime uses often to be able to say goodbye to her friends most efficiently, though much to Big Bird and Barkley's consternation.
- Foreign Queasine:
- Subverted - Big Bird and Barkley dig into the display food at a restaurant, finding it inedible, before being gently corrected by the maitre d', who also teaches him (and us!) how to use chopsticks.
- Played straight when the Shimizu girls offer Barkley a bowl of fish and rice. He is excited at first to be given food but finds it unpalatable and gives up in disappointment.
- Foreshadowing: Kaguya-hime explains that she's leaving Japan and wants to say goodbye to some of her friends, in a melancholy tone. Also, Big Bird and Barkley noticed how Kaguya-hime has a tendency to disappear when Big Bird turns his back, and at one point they catch her standing in the garden, singing an achingly melancholy song to the moon.
- Foil: With a bit of Dramatic Irony: while Big Bird desperately wants to get home and dreads that he'll never be able to, Kaguya-hime dreads going back home to the Moon but knows it's inevitable, that it's her destiny.
- Funny Animal: Of COURSE Big Bird is this! However, he does tend to get serious towards the end...
- Gratuitous English: Discussed. Big Bird is surprised to learn that the Japanese word for "homesick" is "homesick", borrowed as a loan word directly from English.
- Homesickness Hymn: Big Bird's song "Homesick", naturally.
- Honor Before Reason: Okay, tour guide, we get that you want everyone to keep to a strict schedule, but did you really have to leave two of your clients abandoned in the middle of a foreign city just because they weren't back to the bus in time?
- Ignored Epiphany: Being a bird of the real world, Big Bird cheerfully discards the notion at the end that he believed Kaguya-hime really was the Bamboo Princess (it may have to do with the mythological Bamboo Princess' memory loss working both ways, however). Averted with Barkley, however.
- In My Language, That Sounds Like...: Big Bird is extremely confused that the Japanese word for "good morning" just so happens to sound the same as the name of a U.S. state, "Ohio", and that the word for "yes" sounds like the English greeting "Hi".
- Japanese Politeness: Big Bird gets instructions on how to properly bow and to remove his shoes on entering a home. Complicated a bit because he doesn't have shoes, but everyone is understanding.
- Language Barrier: Becomes a Running Gag when he believes that everyone greeting him in the street is claiming to be from Ohio, and meaning "Hi!" when they're saying "Yes." This becomes resolved thanks to the Shimizu girls' song, "One, Two, Three."
- Missed Him by That Much: Big Bird comes to see Kaguya-hime too late because she's already returned to the moon. Because of this, he dismisses himself thinking he was wrong about his friend's odd behavior, but Barkley knows they are one and the same.
- No Name Given: For most of the film our young friend does not give her name; when she does, it takes on Wham Line status.
- Only Sane Man: Barkley, while of course a dog, displays remarkable intuition, leading Kaguya-hime to remark that he is a very smart dog. He's the only one to seemingly be fully aware of Kaguya-hime's special nature by the end, but of course can't communicate it to Big Bird, again, being a dog.
- Outhumbling Each Other: When Big Bird meets the grandparents of the Shimizu family, they take turns bowing formally to each other, each bow deeper than the last to show increased respect and humility. Big Bird concludes by bowing so low that he does an accidental Face Plant! Everyone breaks up laughing and the father remarks, "I wish my daughters could bow as well as you!"
- People of Hair Color: Big Bird observes that all the Japanese people on the streets of Tokyo have black hair.
- Salaryman: Big Bird strikes up a conversation with some of these chaps on the streets of Tokyo, or at least he tries to, what with the Language Barrier and all.
- School Play: The children at the school Big Bird visits are staging an adaptation of "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter", which considering who Big Bird turns out to be traveling with, is also quite a good piece of Crystal-Ball Scheduling.
- Sequel Hook: Kaguya-hime's story dictates that a golden light shining from a bamboo stump indicates her return to Earth. During the credits, the camera tracks through a bamboo forest until it lands on a glowing stump, hinting that she'll be reborn once more.
- "Setting Off" Song: "Off To Kyoto," containing many shout-outs to earlier media.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: Kaguya-hime's elegant jūnihitoe appears once she is found and surrounded by her entourage.
- Shout-Out: Several, to media from the 60s and earlier, so these cross over with Parental Bonus:
- "Off to Kyoto" has several:
- At one point Big Bird says, "Hey, lady? Japanese lady?!"
- "I've always wanted to play [at] the palace!" refers to the Palace Theatre in New York City
, Big Bird's hometown!
- There's No Place Like Home: Big Bird sings several times about being homesick - the last time, ironically, about feeling this for Japan! Kaguya-hime, however, dreads going back home to the moon, as it's implied (as in the legend) she loses her memories of Earth every time she does so.
- Undercrank: Barkley is so frightened by the statues at Sanjusangendo Temple that he runs away in sped-up film.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: No one in Japan seem to take notice of the 8-foot-tall yellow bird and big dog walking down the streets of Tokyo, and the random pedestrians that Big Bird interacts with don't even question the fact that he is a tall yellow bird.
- Walking Spoiler: It’s nearly impossible to discuss Kaguya-hime by name without revealing the surprise of her identity. The film itself treats her as No Name Given until The Reveal near the end.
