Eat your heart out Nemo!

Ponyo is the tenth feature film by Hayao Miyazaki, who’s films include such animated classics as My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke and the Academy Award winning Spirited Away. Hayao Miyazaki has often been labeled as the “Japanese Walt Disney” and even the “greatest of all animators.” Ponyo is yet another testament to these claims.

Ponyo is an amazing motion picture. It takes you to a world of pure magic and childlike wonderment and it doesn’t let you go until the ending credits have finished rolling. And even after that it still buries itself into your subconscious with its sense of wonder. Ponyo is like a child’s imagination personified onscreen.

The plot may sound a bit like that of the Disney classic, The Little Mermaid: A young fish girl (in this case, a goldfish as apposed to a mermaid) discovers the world of humans, and longs to be just like them. It may sound familiar when put that way, but the magic touch of Miyazaki has insured that Ponyo is anything but familiar.

The opening sequence of the film is presented without any dialogue. Instead, we are treated to the wondrous images and stunningly beautiful animation of the film. Ponyo’s father,  an aquatic wizard who’s name we learn is Fujimoto, keeps the undersea world in check. We see him performing various spells and  feats of magic, all of which boggle one’s imagination in the best possible way. It is while he his performing his wizardly duties that Ponyo decides to sneak away from her home, resting atop of a jellyfish like a mattress, and eventually ends up trapped in a jar. It is then that she is found by a human boy named Sosuke, who then frees her from her entrapment. Ponyo repays him by licking a cut on his finger, thus healing it. We later find out that by tasting human blood, Ponyo gains the ability to become human.

Sosuke then takes Ponyo (in fish form) home as a pet (he even gives her the name  Ponyo), where he loves and cares for her. Thus begins a wonderful and endearing friendship that is lovingly crafted and beautifully told.

From a visual standpoint, Ponyo may very well be the most beautiful film ever made (though it has to contend with some of Miyazaki’s other works to make that claim). The film is absolutely beautiful. Every single frame of animation is just so lovingly drawn right down to the smallest of details. It has the distinct look of a Miyazaki film, yet it also has a wonderful “childlike drawing” quality about it that makes it even more special. And (in Miyazaki fashion) we see one innovative idea after another, the likes of which most directors can’t even begin to comprehend. Most film makers are lucky to make one film that delivers something audiences have truly never seen before, yet somehow Miyazaki pops out one film after another filled with so many fantastic ideas, and he does it seemingly effortlessly.

Something that really makes the film’s visual design stand out is the fact that it is entirely hand drawn! There were no computers used whatsoever. These lovingly crafted, traditionally animated images are just so astonishing to behold, and they show us the faults of computer animation.

But eye popping visuals have only been a part of what makes Miyazaki’s films so special. Story and characters are what give these films life, and Ponyo follows in this tradition.

As always, Miyazaki breaks away from the cliches and conventions of “regular” movie making, animation and (most thankfully) the anime genre and creates works of art entirely his own. Miyazaki’s films are like an artistic medium of their own.

Ponyo’s story is (like Miyazaki’s other works) told in such a unique way that it’s hard to describe. But the best way I can think to describe it is (as mentioned earlier) a child’s imagination come to life. It is told through the eyes of children, presented in a childlike dreamworld and told in a way that is simple, yet powerful.

And of course there are the characters, Ponyo’s cast of character include some of Hayao Miyazaki’s most endearing creations, which is quite the statement indeed.

In many ways, Ponyo reminds me of Mei from My Neighbor Totoro. She may start the film as a magic goldfish, but her personality is like that of a real child, just as Mei’s was (and her human form bears something of a resemblance). Though Ponyo’s more magical nature also makes her something akin to Totoro himself.

Sosuke is portrayed as brave and heroic, but not in an unrealistic sense. He is not fighting against scheming adults, he is not inexplicably more mature or intelligent then the grownups around him. He is a real character with a real personality. In fact, he is based on a real person. Hayao Miyazaki’s son, Goro, when he was five years old.

Both Ponyo and Sosuke have a real sense of childhood innocents and curiosity that is seldom seen in American family features, which instead seem to glorify juvenile behavior instead of the wonders of childhood. The relationship between Ponyo and Sosuke is also a truly moving “love story” of sorts. Yes, they are only five, but it is that innocents that is infinitely more moving then all the artificial romance stories that Hollywood seems to like so much.

The rest of the main cast primarily consists of the parents of the two children: Sosuke’s mother, Lisa, is another example of Miyazaki’s strong female characters. Sosuke’s father Koichi is a ship’s captain who is often absent, but never uncaring. Ponyo’s mother is a sea goddess, and her father, the aforementioned Fujimoto, seems somewhat antagonistic from a glance, but his motives are anything but evil.

Of the parental characters my personal favorite would have to be Fujimoto, who’s eccentric yet ominous personality makes him one of Miyazaki’s most intriguing characters.

The music is composed by Joe Hisaishi (who has composed the music for every Miyazaki film since Nausicaa), and it is beautiful to hear. The music ranges from classical to opera to things a little more bouncy and flamboyant. The ending theme song is both delightful and whimsical, and is reminiscent of the opening and closing theme songs from My Neighbor Totoro. Such wonderful music. Another masterful score for a masterful film.

A subject I seem to keep bringing up is the film’s sense of childlike wonderment, but how can I not keep bringing it up? So very few films can truly capture this kind of magic. One simple scene that conveys this has Sosuke showing off his new pet goldfish to a group of elderly women (his mother works at a senior center), but he exclaims “before you can see her, guess what color she is!” There is just something so wonderfully realistic and endearing about this sentence, as it is something you could imagine a child saying in real life. Why do we have to guess her color first? Because that is how a child’s mind works. Simple details like this are a part of what makes Miyazaki’s method of storytelling so magnificent.

Perhaps Fujimoto himself says it best when he tells his sleeping daughter “If only you could remain innocent and pure forever.” This theme echoes through a great number of Miyazaki’s works, and as always it is stated beautifully here.

In the past, I claimed I was skeptical of the dubbed version, well I’m man enough to admit when I am wrong, and boy was I wrong. Disney has proven time and time again that they can capture the magic of the original Japanese versions of Miyazaki’s films, and Ponyo is amongst the best of them.

Noah Cyrus voices Ponyo, and she does a great job at capturing the character’s personality. And to say that I was pleasantly surprised with Frankie Jonas’ portrayal of Sosuke is an understatement. He’s a darned good voice actor. Tina Fey (the voice of Lisa) also does a fantastic job, as does Cate Blanchett (does that even need to be said?). Matt Damon also plays his part well. But possibly the biggest standout is Liam Neeson’s portrayal of Fujimoto, which is a stroke of pure genius. Lily Tomlin, Betty White and Cloris Leechman (who also voiced Dola in the dub of Castle in the Sky) voice a trio of old ladies who provide several comedic moments. Anyone that says anything against dubbing really needs to actually watch Disney’s dubs of the Studio Ghibli films and find out what voice acting is all about.

Ponyo is a true work of art, and it is a triumph of imagination. In the immortal words of Willy Wonka “Here all of my dreams become realities, and all my realities become dreams.” These words come to mind when viewing Ponyo. We are treated to a world that is both surreal and wonderful, but one that is occupied with characters that have realistic personalities yet are fantastic in nature. Ponyo is like a tapestry painted with all the purity and innocents of a child’s imagination.

Another movie quote that describes the wonders of Ponyo comes from the wise words of Jedi master Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back “There is only do or do not. There is no try.” And indeed, Ponyo doesn’t try, it just does. It is artistic not because it is trying to be artsy, it just is. It is not wonderful because it tries to be, it just is. This is art in its purest, most light-hearted form. Another masterwork by the master of animation.

Ponyo has become one of my favorite films by Hayao Miyazaki, and therefore one of the best films I have ever seen. Do yourself a favor and see this movie!

HAM!

(1 votes, average: 10.00 out of 10, rated)

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