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Film: Ponyo
Release date: 7th June 2010
Certificate: U
Running time: 97 mins
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Yuria Nara, Hiroki Doi, Jôji Tokoro
Genre: Animation
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Japan
Hayao Miyazaki’s eighth film for Studio Ghibli, and his tenth overall, Ponyo is perhaps his most successful export to the West. Eschewing the now almost ubiquitous CGI, Miyazaki instead concentrates on the (almost lost) art of hand drawn animation and, at 76, shows no sign of slowing down.
Ponyo, a Princess goldfish born from a union of sea wizard Fujimoto and Earth queen Gran Mamare, has one dream – to be human. Escaping to the surface atop a jellyfish, she becomes trapped in a bottle and is rescued by Sōsuke, a 5-year-old boy who lives on the coast with his seafaring father and harassed mother.
Instantly smitten with each other, Ponyo is quickly returned to her father by powerful wave spirits he has summoned. Undeterred, she uses her father’s magic to transform fully into a human and escape once more, unwittingly releasing these powers into the ocean. This magic has a dramatic effect, summoning monstrous prehistoric creatures to swim the waters once more, the moon to move closer to the earth and tsunamis with their resulting floods to swamp the area…
For those of you not familiar with Japanese animation in general or the revered Hayao Miyazaki in particular, Ponyo is the perfect jumping off point. For children brought up on a diet of CG nonsense at the multiplex on a Saturday morning, it is much more. A welcome return to ninety minutes or so of magic, wonder and the experience of being totally immersed - it provides for kids what a little studio called Disney used to churn out on a regular basis.
That’s not altogether fair. Disney turned a corner some time ago, emboldened somewhat by the success of Pixar, which it purchased in 2006. And perhaps the biggest recommendation for Miyazaki virgins is that John Lasseter, long time Pixar head honcho and now Chief Creative Officer for both them and Disney animation studios as a whole, is the man who personally oversees Studio Ghibli’s output for a Western audience, attracting top drawer voice talent for the English dubs.
Ponyo is, point of fact, the most accessible of Ghibli’s films, but it still appears a strange tale on paper. A magical fish who turns into a girl; mysterious, humungous sea creatures reappearing in the oceans; sea wizards and Earth queens commanding tidal magic and potions, waves, floods...oh, and an old peoples’ home does not sound like a promising mix. But the scope and wonder of the animation is more than matched by the imagination. Supporting characters are given more depth and snappy dialogue than in many a mainstream, adult release (a crotchety resident of the old peoples’ home springs to mind), there’s a real sense of danger with the boiling ocean racing toward and attacking the island (more than a little prescient, unfortunately, given recent events in Japan) and Sōsuke has his toy boat turned life size by the ever wondrous Ponyo. In fact, should you mention the film to any boy child, mention that fact and miss out the phrase “princess goldfish” and you’ll have ‘em hooked. But it’s not only the young who can become lost in this world. The depth of the animation is simply breathtaking, and far more impressive than simply wondering at how long it must have taken. Everything is either hand drawn (most of the backgrounds) or painted with a real cinematic depth. The coastal town depicted is in fact real and little ones may demand a weekend trip to Tomonoura should you let this slip.
The real reason Ponyo works so well is that it follows classic, storytelling structure that’s far older than celluloid. The journey of Sōsuke, through danger, abandonment and adventure, results in redemption after a tricky moral dilemma is dealt with. True love wins in the end. It’s all terribly clichéd, but plays so well precisely because of this. Miyazaki has said that he drew inspiration from The Little Mermaid, citing the original Hans Christian Anderson tale in particular and the eponymous Disney cartoon as a staring motivation to begin work on Ponyo. Some have described this and his other features as Disney on acid and you can see where they’re coming from, even if comments like this completely miss the point. One only has to look at Spirited Away, an earlier feature that has, amongst other things, the parents of our child hero transform into gluttonous pigs at the beginning. Miyazaki might be a little leftfield, but his tales are as old as, well, the sea.
Beautiful, charming and ever-so-quirky, this should be a must have on the shelves of any self-respecting, movie watching family. And if you don’t have kids, either borrow one or two to share the magic with you, or simply borrow their copy and watch it anyway. JMB
Film: Ponyo
Release date: 7th June 2010
Certificate: U
Running time: 97 mins
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Yuria Nara, Hiroki Doi, Jôji Tokoro
Genre: Anime
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Japan
Studio Ghibli has made an international name for itself, and Director Miyazaki in particular, as one of the world's finest animation houses, rivalling Disney in animation and Pixar in storytelling. Ponyo, or more accurately Ponyo on the cliff by the sea, is Miyazaki's latest offering, and tempts with his hallmark love of fantasy and wonder.
Ponyo is the story of The Little Mermaid, Japanese style. Ponyo is a fish along with many sisters. Her father is the wizard Fujimoto, and her mother Granmamare is a Goddess. Ponyo has a desire to see the world and escapes from her Father one day while he travels in his submarine. When she reaches the surface, Ponyo is caught up in a garbage trawler and saved by Sosuke, the boy from the cliff. Ponyo falls in love with Sosuke.
Fujimoto sends waves to save Ponyo from the humans, and eventually gets her back. But Ponyo has tasted the blood of a human, and this gives her the power to become human also. She escapes from Fujimoto again and steals his magic, upsetting his potions in the process and spilling them into the sea. Ponyo, now fully human, uses the power of the sea to reunite her with Sosuke.
But there is now an imbalance in the world which will destroy it. Sosuke and Ponyo wake to find the world underwater. Ponyo uses her magic to turn Sosuke's toy boat into a little steamer and they journey to find Sosuke's mother. As they travel, Ponyo's magic runs out and she returns to being a fish. Sosuke saves her again, and they find his mother, Granmamare and Fujimoto together under the water. The only way to save the world is for Sosuke to fall in love with Ponyo…
As always with Studio Ghibli, the animation is unbelievably beautiful in ways that Disney and Pixar will never equal, for differing reasons. Pixar, for all its clever technology, will never produce animation with this much heart and soul, and Disney simply don’t have the imagination. If nothing else, Ponyo proves beyond all doubt that hand drawn 2D animation can be as good as anything done on a computer in however many dimensions you care to mention. Of particular note is the mid-film set piece. A simple in concept, yet truly spectacular scene as Ponyo rides her brothers and sisters, now transformed into giant fish, over the sea and up onto the cliff, as Sosuke's mother drives perilously fast around hairpin bends to escape the onrushing flood. It's a staggering achievement that ranks as some of the best high energy animation in any animated film, ever.
However, there is more to a film than just animation. We expect nothing less than perfection from Studio Ghibli. But does the film stand up to its previous offerings? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Make no mistake, this is a film with enough heart to capture even the hardest cynic, but flaws do exist in the film, and they lie with the storytelling. When we first meet Fujimoto, he is a wizard who desires to wipe out humanity and return extinct animals to the sea - a character trait that is never mentioned again. While this is a mere niggle to an adult, and won't even be noticed by the majority of children watching the film, it does point to the fact that the plot is not as watertight as it ought to be. Another little niggle involves Sosuke's father, who out at sea finds hundreds of ships all thrown together in a beautifully animated scene, but one that goes nowhere. It's unfortunate, but it is just shabby storytelling. There's no excuse for a script that introduces plot elements only to subsequently ignore them completely.
As well as losing entire strands of character and story development, the script also neglects to adequately frame the story that is seen. The viewer is never entirely sure of the nature of the oncoming catastrophe. Is it down to Fujimotos magic elixirs spilling into the ocean? The logical reason that the animation supports, or is it because a fish has become a human? Something the script suggests, but without rhyme or reason.
Despite these niggles, Ponyo succeeds because it's a heart rather than a head film. The narrative may be of variable quality, but the characterisation is perfect. Sosuke and Ponyo will capture even the hardest of hearts. Both characters are adorable and beautifully brought to life. Sosuke's mother Lisa is grounded in the real world of elderly care but equally well created. Children will probably want to watch with the English dub, and this too is excellent, with actors like Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon and Liam Neeson on board, all doing excellent jobs.
Ponyo is an outstanding feat of animation, let down somewhat by a less than perfect script. But these problems are not fatal flaws and there is much to enjoy. A feast for the senses that everyone should love. PE
