Has Hayao Miyazaki ever made a bad movie? Absolutely not. He’s like the Pixar of the east, the Pedro Almodovar of Japan, and his newest creation, the delightful Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea or simply Ponyo, as it’s being marketed here in the States, is another little gem to add to his collection.
The story is sort of a take on “The Little Mermaid” though still pretty original on it’s own way, and after watching tons of computer animated movies (no offense to pixar) in the last few years it is quite refreshing to see good ol’ hand drawing animation again on the big screen, and Ponyo is truly a beautifully rendered animation film, where colors just jump at you and several shots just look like the brightest and vibrant of paintings.
The story tells the tale of this little fish who’s one of many daughters of this *man* who used to be a regular man until he gave up life on earth to live undersea and become sort of guardian of the oceans, while the mother is the ocean’s spirit. Ponyo being the older and most adventurous of the daughters decides to go on a little adventure that takes her to the surface and into the hands of 5yr old Sosuke who takes her in as his goldfish. This sets in motion a huge search for her by her father and mother that threatens to throw off the balance of nature and destroy the world by having Ponyo living outside the ocean where she belongs, while Ponyo grows so attached to Sosuke that she longs to become human.
It is a sprinty, colorful, action-y, lovely movie that kids and grown ups would love as well as great message movie about our pollution of the oceans. Grade: B+
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