Ponyo (Review)

Well I've seen it. I'll preface my review by saying I will go again. Twice. Opening day. Once it finally comes here. Australia gets it August 27th so I hope against hope I'll get it sometime around then (no word yet).

I live for Miyazaki. Ever since I saw either Totoro or Mononoke (can't remember which was first), it's been my purpose in life. To watch his movies. Spirited Away cemented my love. It's the best movie of all time. So basically I've been looking forward to Ponyo since 2002 or 2003. So it's also safe to say my expectations were gargantuan. Even pretty devout movie freaks wouldn't understand how high they were. The only thing that would compare would be a super-religious person's expectations of Heaven. And (you probably expected this), those expectations were utterly crushed.

What I (and you) have seen in the trailers is all from the first half. Really they showed nothing. Happy about that. The story is pretty damn simple. Ponyo is a curious goldfish who meets a five-year-old boy (Sosuke) and wants to become human. Sosuke is the son of a fishing boat captain and a senior center aide. He's an intelligent boy who knows Morse code (so he can talk to his dad on the ship from his cliff top house), can pilot a small boat, swim with great confidence, and be a good friend to an entire town. Lots of Miyazaki's main characters are like this (Nausicaä and Patzu come to mind instantly), but Sosuke feels more real. Yes his world is still fantastical, but he's just a normal little boy.


This is Miyazaki's "youngest" effort since Totoro, and Ponyo rivals it in target audience age. It's a kid's movie. And there is no one on the planet who can make movies that can universally connect with children, from anywhere, and of any age. I can't imagine any kid wouldn't be enthralled. The kids are so relatable and good you just root for them. You want them to succeed. You feel sad when they do, and happy when they do. There is conflict but no one's ever in any real danger. Well, maybe they are, but their confidence gives you confidence as well. As per tradition there really is no "bad guy", Miyazaki villains (excluding Muska from Castle in the Sky) tend more to be "conflict instigators" who create conflict but with no real bad intentions. That's especially true here. Fujimoto doesn't want to give up his daughter, he's as much a bad guy as King Triton is in Little Mermaid.

This was the first Miyazaki I've seen in Japanese. I think with this it made no difference as there actually wasn't all that much dialogue. The subtitles I think will be almost exactly what the English dialogue will be. There was very little to change so there weren't many made (Japanese-speaking friend of friend said they were pretty close). I'm very interested in the English cut now though. Big stars with very very few lines, Matt Damon's character in particular, will be interesting. Most of the dialogue is spoken Sosuke (little Jonas), his mom (Tina Fey) and Fujimoto (Liam Neeson), and I'm sure they'll all be able to pull off their roles (how hard can it be for a little boy to voice a little boy?).

I'll be the first person to tell you Pixar is the best American studio making films today. They are. There's no question or competition there. But when it comes to best in the world, it's a different story. No person or studio that is, has been, or will be can even hold a candle to Miyazaki and his artists. Ponyo is a work of art from first to last frame, each and every one meticulously hand crafted by the best animators in the world. Water color was definitely the way to go for a water-based film like this. The colors are rich and vibrant and they sparkle on-screen. Whether it's Sosuke's house or a group of trees or an underwater seascape the drawings seem to breathe even if nothing living is in them. The characters, be they human, fish (real or not), or god are perfectly at home in this village that resembles a present-day version of the coastal town in Howl's Moving Castle.


Joe Hisaishi's score, as usual, deserves its own paragraph. He is one of the great composers and Ponyo's score is new and beautiful and perfect in every way.

I can't really put into words how utterly brilliant and amazing this film is. The best works in the medium happen to be animated and come from Japan and this is the best since Satoshi Kon's Paprika. And it will certainly be the best until Kon, Miyazaki, or Ghibli veteran Isao Takahata release another masterpiece.