Ponyo

6 Comments

1. J. Campanella says:

   January 24, 2010 at 5:11 am

   I love all of Hayao Miyazaki’s movies and I loved Ponyo. This was the first movie in a theater that my squirmy 3 yr daughter ever saw and she was simply entranced and actually sat through the whole thing. I recommend this wondrous charming movie to any age group and any person. It is artful and marvelous.

   Now given all that is this particular DVD version the English dubbed one that was seen in American theaters? It is very confusing. The Amazon page gives the American Actors as the principle players in the animated movie and then says it is Japanese with English Subtitles. I am very hesitant to buy this version for my kids since it does not appear to know what it actually is.
   Rating: 5 / 5
2. Starrylynx says:

   January 24, 2010 at 8:10 am

   This is a marvelous film, another magical movie adventure from the genius of Hayao Miyazaki, I would highly recommend it to everyone, so happy that the dvd will be coming out in March, and for the person who wondered if it was the version seen in the theater – yes, note that the studio is Disney, it will be the in English dubbed with Cate Blanchett, Frankie Jonas, Noah Lindsey Cyrus and others, Disney/Buena Vista does the distribution and dubbing for the Miyazaki films released in English, thankfully under the condition that not a iota is changed ~ wonder what the next Miyazaki gift will be. Go see this film, colors are fabulous, story line is thoughtful and fun, a treat for the whole family, you can’t go wrong with a Ghibli film! Check them all out ~
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. Zack Davisson says:

   January 24, 2010 at 10:40 am

   The mother Lisa has the most poignant line in “Ponyo,” saying the equivalent of “When you find yourself surrounded by magic and wonder, you don’t try and understand it you just enjoy it.”

   To me, that is the theme and lesson of “Ponyo” (“Gake no Ue no Ponyou” or “Ponyo on the Cliffs”). After dabbling in darker themes and more adult-orientated fare like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, Miyazaki has returned to the lighter, simpler themes of the magic and mystery of childhood as found in his groundbreaking My Neighbor Totoro. One can always tell the target audience for a Miyazaki film by the age of the main character: “Spirited Away” was made for 10-year olds, “Princess Mononoke” was made for teenagers. The lead characters in “Ponyo” are 5 years old.

   Like “My Neighbor Totoro,” “Ponyo” is a film based on a childlike sense of joy and imagination. There is no need for a “villain” or some arbitrary conflict or threat for the children to overcome. Like Satsuki and Mei, Sosuke and Ponyo are pure at heart, and open to exploring the wonders around them. They feel their emotions without cynicism or thought, instead living in the moment and experiencing its joys, sorrows and fears.

   Which is not to say there is no depth here. In “Ponyo,” Miyazaki has blended two unlikely sources; Richard Wagner’s pounding opera Die Walkure from Der Ring Des Nibelungen and Hans Christian Anderson’s melancholy fairy tale The Little Mermaid. The essential set-up comes from “Die Walkure,” where the god Wotan holds the goddess Freia captive, and is also the possessor of the Rhinegold Ring which grants vast magical powers so long as one gives up all possibility of love. As a nod to this, the name Ponyo is giving by her father is Brünnhilde, one of the Valkyrie who feels the power of the Ring and must make the choice between love and paradise. This story is skillfully blended with Anderson’s “Little Mermaid,” about a sea creature who must win the love of a human or be reduced to soulless sea foam.

   Miyazaki essentially presents two movies. The front film is basic, colorful and easy to understand for children. The animation in “Ponyo” is some of the best that I have ever seen, with Miyazaki personally drawing much of the underwater and ocean scenes, utilizing the influence of classic Japanese ukiyo-e pictures. Miyazaki has said that “Ponyo” is his most technically complicated film, using more unique images than any previous film.

   The second, deeper story is something that can only be assembled from fragments and snatches of conversation. For example, the wizard Fujimoto, Ponyo’s father, was a human being who fell in love with the ocean goddess Gran Mammare, and struggled for centuries to burn away his humanity and become consort and protector for the entity he loved. More than anyone, he understands the sacrifices and struggles awaiting Ponyo when she loves someone not of her world. These story/sub-story elements are one of the things I love so much about Japanese film, where more expectations are put on the audience to read between the lines and to give thought to the unspoken as well as the spoken

   I am not sure how much of this deeper story survived the translation into English, as I watched the film in Japanese. There are some nuances that probably went missing, and I am curious as to how some of the scenes were handled, such as when Lisa sings Sosuke a part of the theme song to “My Neighbor Totoro” to cheer him up when his father is not home. Some other things, such as the significance of tunnels in Japanese folklore (considered the realm of female Mountain Gods who are prone to jealousy, it is assumed that the tunnel would not take kindly to a water deity passing through. However, outside the tunnel is a statue of Jizo, the protector of children, which sends a visual clue to the audience that Sosuke and Ponyo are going to be alright.) also might pass unnoticed or appear confusing to Western audiences, although every Japanese person would inately understand this without needing to be told.

   Miyazaki proved in “Ponyo” that he is still the greatest director of animated films alive. I am so thrilled to have seen this movie, and I know I will watch it again and again.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. E. A Solinas says:

   January 24, 2010 at 11:38 am

   Hayao Miyazaki is one of those rare directors who can take the magic of nature and childhood, then somehow capture it for the screen.

   And his tenth Ghibli movie “Ponyo” is no exception — it’s a reimagined tale of a “little mermaid” who wants to become human so she can be with a little human boy she loves. It’s a simple story told in a simple manner (occasionally TOO simple), but it has a lush oceanic beauty and an innocent sweetness that really capture your heart and imagination.

   A little boy named Sosuke finds a tiny “goldfish” with a human face on a beach, trapped in a bottle. He names her Ponyo, and goes to great lengths to care for his little fishy friend. But then the sea wizard Fujimoto, Ponyo’s overprotective dad, appears and snatches Ponyo back into the sea — and she decides that she wants to become human so she can be with Sosuke. Having tasted a bit of Sosuke’s blood, she sprouts chickenleggy limbs and starts to change, but inadvertently disrupts a magical well that causes the moon to drop, the seas to rise over the land, and prehistoric magic to rise once more.

   Sosuke and Ponyo are delighted to be reunited, despite the raging storm that is engulfing the city and causing ships to go missing. While the children go searching for Sosuke’s missing mother, Fujimoto struggles to fix the balance of nature before the entire world is destroyed, with the help of Ponyo’s sea goddess mother. The only hope of restoring balance lies in Ponyo and Sosuke — and if Sosuke’s love is not true, then Ponyo will be reduced to sea foam.

   Compared to Miyazaki’s other movies, “Ponyo” is a very simple story — it’s basically a boy-meets-fishgirl story, with lots of children running around being adorable and exquisite looks at the sea. Even its theme is simple — the story is dependent on on true selfless love and how it knows no boundaries of age, experience or even species. Not to mention parents letting go of their children.

   If there’s a downside to the story, it’s the lack of internal conflict. Example: the “test” that Fujimoto and the sea goddess use for Sosuke… well, it’s far less impressive than it seems.

   And Miyazaki does not disappoint animationwise — he conjures a waterworld of luminous sea life, sparkling ships, prehistoric creatures, finned submarines and a town that has been swallowed by the sea (complete with boats floating over the rooftops). It’s an exquisite piece of work that turns the ocean into a magical, otherworldly realm where wizards work in coral-encrusted towers and shimmering jellyfish take little mermaids to the surface.

   Ponyo herself provides a lot of the movie’s charm — she’s effusive, hyperactive, has a babylike fascination with the human world (“HAM!”), and an array of handy magical powers. Sosuke is a likable lad who is fascinated by Ponyo and her world, and Fujimoto makes a enjoyable anti-hero — spindly, gaunt and with a mane of messy red hair, he’s like a rock’n'roll embodiment of parental stress.

   The extras are pretty promising on this blu-ray, and they seem to be the same as the regular DVD edition’s extras (rather than stiffing or one or the other group of buyers) — a slew of documentaries and interviews (including with Miyazaki himself), storyboards, explorations of the story’s background, et cetera. And most striking is the “World of Ghibli,” an interactive creation which apparently allows people to “enter” the worlds of various Miyazaki movies — “Ponyo’s,” “Kiki’s,” “Castle in the Sky’s,” and so on. And given how luminous and lush the colors are, the movie itself should be spellbinding visually.

   “Ponyo” is simpler and more childlike fare than most of Miyazaki’s past films, but it’s still a sweet and lushly-animated piece of work. At the very least, it will transport you to a magical childhood.
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. Jeramy Self says:

   March 18, 2010 at 12:25 pm

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