Ponyo (2008)

Ponyo (2008)

 

6/10

 

Starring the voices of

Tomoko Yamaguchi

Kazushige Nagashima

Yūki Amami

George Tokoro

Directed by Hayo Miyazaki

Ponyo is an animation made solely for children, is what I think. I do not believe the movie cuts across all ages, but I was not thrown off watching it. Hayao Miyazaki has done better movies, but I have to say the way the fantasy aspect of this movie takes off with a steady pace is worth applauding Miyazaki for, for his direction. The movie is written and directed by Miyazaki and is based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid.

I guess to me the biggest challenge in the movie was the story leaving enough gap for the imagination which children will love, but as adult a story needs to be a complete circle for most of its parts. Disney’s The Little Mermaid, did a better task in making their adaptation of Andersen's novel more rounded.

In the end as a whole the movie is worth seeing for Miyazaki fans who are already comfortable with his style of story telling. The fantasy aspect of this film unfolds swiftly and there is some cool moments when you see the magic of the sea run rampant and untamed. That moment was sure fun to see, especially seeing Ponyo running on wild large fishes heading towards Sosuke.

The plot starts with a young boy Sosuke finding a small fish and taking it with him. He has a cut and the fish jumps out and licks it, healing it. He then fed the fish, named it Ponyo and took it home with him. We then meet this wizard which we come to learn is the father of the fish. He fears for his daughter’s safety and does everything to get Ponyo back. So as not to drop spoilers we will skip to him succeeding to get his daughter back.

Her magic starts to act, she loves the young boy and wants to be with him, so Ponyo starts changing, trying as we see to transform into a human. The process was stopped by her father and we learn more about him. Ponyo breaks free from the bubble cage she is kept and decided to get free and go find Sosuke. The movie from then on is about this drive of Ponyo to be with Sosuke. That drive caused an imbalance which could destroy the whole earth.

The movie can be more appreciated from my view if you look at the magnificent way Miyazaki took the plot and gave it enough twist.