Ponyo

Ponyo (2008): Japan – Directed by Hiyao Miyazaki

Rated G by the MPAA – contains magical water creatures

(Note: This review was originally written on 7.27.09)

So, I was writing a review for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but couldn’t think of anything better to say than that it’s awesome and lots of stuff blows up and I love it ever-so-much.  The problem, I think, is that I saw it last Friday night (and it’s now Monday) and don’t exactly remember if there was anything specific I wanted to write about it.  But I did also see a sneak peek of Ponyo, the latest from Hayao Miyazaki.

You might remember him from such films as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.  He’s the Japanese Walt Disney but many feel he’s surpassed Walt to become the greatest animator ever.  You could probably count me among those who feel that way.

This time around the plot centers on a small magical creature named Ponyo.  Ponyo isn’t anything in particular; she appears, rather, to be made of pure, unadulterated cuteness.  Her father used to be a human but now lives under the sea protecting the balance of the world, a job made essential now that humans are polluting it like crazy.  Her mother is a great magical creature of the sea and I’m not entirely sure how they procreated to make Ponyo and her little siblings.  Anyway, Ponyo gets caught in a net one day and ends up in the hands of Sosuke, a young boy who lives in a house on a cliff next to the sea.  His father’s a captain who is out at sea and his mother works at a senior center around the bay.

Things happen and some danger arises, and it appears that Ponyo may be the only one capable of saving the world.  It also seems that Sosuke may be the only one able to save Ponyo.  Anyway, the plot isn’t particularly important.  None of the themes seem to get developed particularly well.  The environmentalist attitude phases out early on, and then themes of love and friendship seem a bit rushed toward the end.  Not to say that it’s a bad movie.  Far from it; it’s very enjoyable and absurdly cute.  Seriously, everything in the movie is cute.  Ponyo is obscenely adorable, as is Sosuke.  His mom is even pretty cute, and her mom is a beautiful sea spirit or something.

Compared to some of Miyazaki’s other films Ponyo is aimed at a younger audience.  There’s almost no danger or evil.  The character that starts out as sort of evil turns out to be a good guy and nothing bad happens in the entire film.  It’s interesting to note the cultural differences here, as certain Eastern cultures don’t think in black and white terms like good and evil, while many Western, and especially American films need to have a clear-cut good guy and bad guy.  Or if not purely good or evil, they have to have good or evil tendencies.  Here, though, all the characters just exist.  That’s not a problem, though, it just goes to show how happy the film is.  It’s totally optimistic.

On top of that it’s got Miyazaki’s distinctive look, and is gorgeous throughout.  The animation looks wonderful, especially during some more exciting scenes involving an angry ocean.  All of this combines to make a very good movie, though one that’s not particularly deep or aimed at an adult audience.  If you like Miyazaki, though, you will like the movie, and if you like cute anime characters you will probably wet your pants with joy.  As for me, I believe I smiled during the entire movie, and didn’t stop until several minutes after I left the theater.