Ponyo (Gake no ue no Ponyo)

2008
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Plot: An animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human.

It's Not OK to Eat Fish, Cuz They Have Adorable Feelings!
by C. True

Generally I don’t prefer to see movies with an audience, but I suppose it can be telling. And I was pretty sure anything by Miyazaki would be better on the big screen so I decided to spend the whopping $3 to see Ponyo in my local second-run pub-theater. After the movie I jumped up as soon as the credits starting rolling to make a speedy exit, and I was met with about 40 huge dopey grins staring back at the screen. And this was a theater of adults only. Did I mention that it was a sold out showing on a Tuesday? Ponyo is just a sickeningly adorable film, and I mean that as a compliment. In terms of Miyazaki’s work, Ponyo fits most closely in with My Neighbor Totoro. It is a story from a child’s perspectives and as such the plot really lacks a lot of complexity and conflict. In fact there isn’t much of a plot to Ponyo, but simplistic child-like wonder may be what Miyazaki does best. I was convinced and enthralled by the movie’s singular driving force: Ponyo loves Sosuke! Ponyo is a little fish daughter of a fruity ocean wizard, and when she runs (swims) away she meets a little boy named Sosuke who rescues her from a sticky situation in a jar. Ponyo’s heart is set, she must be with Sosuke and that means she must become a little girl. Ponyo the fish is adorable, Ponyo the little girl is adorable, and Ponyo’s love of everything new, and most of all Sosuke, is adorable. That’s all you really need to know story wise.

Visually here I was initially a little perplexed. The animation struck me as a little less slick than say Spirited Away, where every inch of the screen was filled with complex colors, patterns and textures. Drawing for drawing there just wasn’t that elaborate animation style. But while the animation itself may not be quite as luxurious as previous Studio Ghibli works, the imagination and use of imagery in this movie is breathtaking and unmatched in previous Miyazaki films. The waves of the ocean are transformed in beautiful ways, sometimes into leering ominous henchman come to steal Ponyo away, sometimes into beautiful fish of all different colors. Whereas something like Finding Nemo brings a realistic and beautiful underwater world to the screen, Ponyo really makes elaborate fantasy of the ocean in a way that is mesmerizing to watch.

So it is adorable and it looks really good. But if you don’t go for the Japanese Anime in general, I don’t think this will be a game-changer for you. And yes the style of Anime stories can be a little befuddling to western movie-goers as some aspects are clearly lost in translation. But really, watching Ponyo is as close to being back in the mindset of a 5 year old as I think possible, so needless to say it was definitely worth the $3.