PONYO
Rated G
101 minutes
Walt Disney Pictures / Studio Ghibli
*** ½ out of 5
When John Lasseter managed to snag the rights to the forthcoming Hayao Miyazaki films he was placing a very nice wager for public consumption. Miyazaki’s films may not be what one could ever call mainstream but they are definitely head and shoulders above most other animation studio films, even most of Dreamworks. This is in no way a slam but there is so much care taken to story telling no matter how whimsical it may be and so much thought towards pure invention that they always feel fresh and exciting even if it can be barely sustained for the entire runtime.
I am definitely a fan of Miyazaki even if “Ponyo” is the first of his films that I have ever managed to sit thru entirely. Maybe this could be from being able to take in the experience in a darkened theater where all the pain-staking details of every frame can pour forth and not be disserviced by DVD and a picture tube. None of his films are available domestically on Blu-ray but with a full 1080p 40” screen to bear witness I will be surely adding any of his titles to my library where they will be greeted with open arms next to the available Disney and Pixar Blu-ray titles.
The wonders splashing forth across the screen are quite breathtaking and indeed some are even awe inspiring but what made them stand out even more so in my mind is the obviousness of every frame being hand drawn along with the backgrounds being hand painted. This is one of those films where it is truly like watching a painting come to life. A big scene where Ponyo (voiced by Noah Cyrus) is running alongside a winding ocean road atop giant watery fish is particularly outstanding and never once do you have a sense of fear for her as her character began life as a “goldfish” found by five-year-old Sosuke (voiced by Frankie Jonas) so you know that water is her first home and she is using this to her advantage to get from point A to B.
Ponyo, as mentioned before, began life as a fish of sorts. Her father Fujimoto tries to stop her from venturing forth onto the land topside but her curiosity gets the better of her and Sosuke rescues her from a glass bottle. Upon rescue, she licks the blood from a cut Sosuke sustained rescuing her from the glass bottle and this enables her to begin evolving into human form. First, she leans to speak then soon enough she figures out a way to grow herself some hands and feet as well. Ponyo’s transformation from “fish” to human causes Nature to become off balance and the moon begins to grow increasingly closer to the Earth wreaking havoc of the ocean. Ancient sea creatures being swimming the now flooded streets of the village and said flooding has made Sosuke’s mother, Lisa (voiced by Tina Fey) to go missing when she takes off to make sure the elderly folk at the senior center she works at are taken care of during the ever growing storm.
Can Sosuke find his mother or will the ocean take her and the senior center out? Will Sosuke prove his love for Ponyo in order to make her transformation to human complete and set the storms aside? Does any of it really matter? In the end, the story elements begin to deplete themselves and it becomes rather muddled what all of it really means. The plus side to this is that the “humans are ruining the Earth” tones are not really in your face. It takes second fiddle to whatever visuals Miyazaki can come up with next before the 101 minutes are over. As a kids flick it is extremely good. As family entertainment, it is kind of a head scratcher. Some of the images are pretty phallic and downright sexual but it will most definitely go over the youngsters heads. However, just in case they may be getting old enough to recognize some of them you should consider yourself warned on this aspect. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for something new and exciting or just wanting to expand your children’s horizons then yes, there is definitely something new under the sea and at your local multiplex.
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