Anyone who has seen a film by Hayao Miyazaki will agree that they are a triumph in craft and imagination. This is only the second one I’ve seen but his influence is obvious. He has so much going on in just one frame that it’s sometimes even hard to comprehend. In Ponyo, Miyazaki has created his own Little Mermaid. The plot focuses on a fish girl who lives with her father in his underwater castle. Her own curiosity provokes her to leave and she floats away on the back of a jellyfish. She eventually finds herself washed up on the shore of a small fishing town and is rescued by a young boy named Sosuke. Before long the two grow close and Ponyo soon longs to be a real girl herself, against the wishes of her father. Of course, only true love from Sosuke can allow her to permanently change.
The film is of course a visual spectacle and the simple moral of accepting people for what they are is a good message for children. Unfortunately I felt that, unlike Spirited Away, the story was a little too juvenile for adults. Ponyo and Sosuke shouting at each other about her love for ham may have the intention of being cute, unfortunately it’s quite irritating. Saying that, the a-list English speaking cast to an adequate job and it’s always a pleasure to see such outstanding work can still be done with cell animation. One wonders the possibility if Miyazaki was given the job of creating a film for Pixar.
3/5
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