Ponyo

Ponyo - or Gake no Ue no Ponyo - is Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated feature.  It isn't his greatest, but it is without a doubt his cutest.  To be fair, I haven't seen his other G rated endeavor, My Neighbor Totoro, but to think that it could be cuter than the story of a magical human faced goldfish from the ocean falling in love with a little boy and turning herself into a human even though it throws out the balance of nature is preposterous.  By the way, Ponyo is also one of the least strange of Miyazaki's films that I have seen.  If this was the first exposure someone had to this king of anime, that may seem an odd statement since it truly is one strange cookie, but trust me, Ponyo is really rather tame.

Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have something of a legendary reputation and the English versions of their films are given the royal treatment with all star actors and distribution by Disney.  The English direction of Ponyo was even handled by Pixar's John Lasseter and even enjoyed a (unfortunately limited) run in American theatres.

I am often pained to watch dubbed Japanese films because of the lack of quality the voice actors possess, but it was a joy to watch with the voice talent of Cate Blanchet, Noah Lindsey Cyrus (Miley's younger sister), Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas (yes there is another one of them), Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, and Betty White.  An odd sounding ensemble to be sure, but it works.

Ponyo was, according to Miyazaki, inspired by the story of the Little Mermaid, but it is nowhere near to being a straightforward adaptation, or even a loose imitation.  Ponyo (Cyrus) is the oldest (presumably) daughter of Fujimoto (Neeson) who was once an ordinary man but now lives under the water in a bubblepunk submarine as caretaker of the sea.  Her mother is the goddess Gran Mamare (Blanchett).  She's an adventurous one and can't be tied down.  This attitude soon finds her stuck in a discarded bottle and washed up on shore where she is rescued by young Sosuke (Jonas).  After tasting human blood and ham, she forms an inseparable bond with Sosuke.  Once back in the keep of her father she once again runs off, this time with extra magic as she sprouts chicken feet and becomes a little girl that still kind of looks like a goldfish.  I can't make this stuff up.

The most creative predictable director I can think of, Miyazaki holds true to his elements of "humans do bad things to nature, balance is upset, and everyone is sad."  These themes are nowhere near as strong in this film though as in many of his others, being more implicit than explicitly preached.  The ending, too, is much happier and G rated than something like Princess Mononoke.

Despite being different than some of Miyazaki's other films, and being so odd, it all works and it's amazingly easy to follow.  I dare even the most hardened guy not to be touched by Cyrus's ultra cute portrayal of the fish who fell in love with a boy.

Despite the obvious advantage of the medium - visuals are often thrown to the side in animated films.  Miyazaki usually doesn't fall into that category and Ponyo is no exception.  Water becomes alive like you've never seen before as it is both solid and liquid in a simultaneous gentle power that is terrifying and lovely.  Despite being a somewhat short movie, the characters are remarkably realized for the short time they're given on screen and deal with more complex issues than you would normally find in a kid's flick.

If you haven't been introduced to the refreshing alternative Japanese animated features offer, Ponyo is a relatively painless way to dive in and is worth the watch either way.

**** (4/5 stars)