I went down to the Detroit Film Theater for the animated movie The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. This is adapted from one of Japan's oldest tales. I see it has been nominated for a Best Animation Oscar, up against How to Train Your Dragon 2. It is a beautiful movie with exquisite imagery. I saw the version dubbed in English. A bamboo cutter comes across a fast growing plant that produces a tiny girl. He takes it home and it becomes a baby who grows up rapidly. Some pretty good animation shows her learning to crawl and walk within the same day. A couple more fast growing plants produce gold and sumptuous clothing. That convinces the man that the gods want him to take the girl to the city, build her a palace, and train her to be a princess. She had a wonderful time growing up in the rural community and hates the strange rituals of a princess. It gets worse when she is given an official name and suitors start flocking. She is forced into, and soon actively rejects, a role she finds unsuitable for herself. It is a story lots of sexual minorities know too well.
After the movie and a bit of wandering around the Detroit Institute of Arts (of which the DFT is a part) I went a few blocks to the Detroit Whole Foods store. I'm pretty sure I saw a few of the drag queen dancers from Kinky Boots. They weren't in costume, but they did have their stage makeup. Popping into Whole Foods between the matinee and evening performances probably resulted in a better supper on less time and for less hassle than many other places in Detroit.
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