Ponyo: 2008

Ponyo and Sousuke in their little hiding place.

Written by legendary director and animator Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli, “Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea” (abbreviated to “Ponyo” in the English release) is a heartwarming film that backs away from the current frenetic, frantic trend that many modern animated movies indulge in. Simple in conception, the story is wonderfully magical and captivating with its stunningly detailed landscapes and lovable characters.

The story begins with the little Ponyo (Yuria Nara, dubbed by Noah Cyrus) swimming away from her father, Fujimoto (George Tokoro, dubbed by Liam Neeson), who has decided to take her and his daughters on a oceanic stroll. Of course, Ponyo isn’t satisfied with being confined to the safety of his bubble domain and swims away, off on her own little adventure atop a jellyfish. She is content and happy until a garbage-collecting ship inadvertently forces off her voyage and she finds herself stuck in a glass jar.

Luckily, a boy named Sousuke (Hiroki Doi, dubbed by Frankie Jonas) finds her stranded in the shallow ends of the tide beneath the cliff of his home and befriends her. He discovers that she is magical and can speak – babyishly so, but able to nonetheless, and this utterly delights him. He promises to protect her, and she gleefully responds with playful water squirts and ecstatic flips and turns. Unfortunately, their little extravaganza is cut off when Ponyo’s protective father sweeps her away back to safety, away from the confines of Sousuke’s green little bucket and back into the embrace of watery depths.

The rest of the story details Ponyo’s efforts to return to Sousuke as a human, the consequences of her joyous actions notwithstanding their misfortunate yet unmistakably wondrous effects. It is a wonderful adventure involving Sousuke’s strong-willed mother, Lisa (Tomoko Yamaguchi, dubbed by Tina Fey), and the two children finding their way through nautical obstacles for various reasons that I shall not reveal here. There is a little mix of Hans Christen Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid” and a little dash of Steven Spieldeberg’s “E.T.” reflected in the story, but “Ponyo” is as original as it can get.

Director and writer Hayao Miyazaki is known for writing strong female characters and his strong stance on environmental issues, and “Ponyo” is no exception to his trademarks. The greatest example of his deep felt respect for women is Lisa, who is loving, daring and incredibly brave; nonsensical and pragmatic, Lisa responds to Sousuke’s concerns and excitement with sincere intrigue, never once brushing him off with disinterest or disregard. This is a significant difference between Miyazaki’s depiction of parent-child relationships which, in contrast to many American characterizations, is filled with trust and mutual respect: both Sousuke and Lisa depend on one another, he as her child and her as his mother. They both know their limitations in perceptions and capabilities, and understand that they each compensate for the other’s shortcomings. This depiction is likely a major discrepancy between Eastern and Western cultures, in where the former emphasizes collective relationships while the latter emphasizes individual strive and achievement.

Additionally, Miyazaki’s depiction of the ocean is simultaneously phantasmic and ghastly. While magical entities like Fujimoto and Ponyo’s mother Granmanmale (Yuki Amami, dubbed by Cate Blanchett) exist, the ocean if riddled with mounds of trash: from empty soda bottles to car tires, Ponyo’s ocean is anything but pristinely untouched. When Ponyo is separated from her jellyfish escort in the beginning, she and other fishes frantically swim away from a monstrous looking garbage-collecting boat that gathers mounds and mounds of accumulated junk in a mechanically beast-like manner. At another point Fujimoto, searching desperately for his daughter, disparages the filth and gunk he must travel through in order to reach the shore. Despite the heaps of garbage seen on screen, the environmental message is subtle and effective in itself: the characters are accustomed to this as are we, and it is this familiarity that is inherently disturbing. The film makes it very clear, however, that environmental extremism is not the solution to humanities destructive habits. Regardless, the scenery and landscapes are ominously magnificent, a clear reflection of Eastern mythos in which there is a profound, deep respect with nature and a desire to coexist harmoniously with natural elements rather than conquer them.

There is a fantastical scene where, upon releasing her father’s powerful magic, Ponyo skips and runs upon waves and waves in a stormy sea, chasing Sousuke and Lisa as they daringly drive up the steep cliffs back to their home. It’s amazing to see the depth of imagination and visual representation of each individual wave: without a relative scale, each wave looks like a great blue fish with flowing, watery scales and fins, and with each wave crash each great blue fish disintegrates into millions of watery droplets scattered back to the ocean. This scene is a definite highlight of the movie amongst many others for which any viewer will be more than pleased with.

The soundtrack is beautifully composed by veteran Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi and coincides marvelously with the super animation of Studio Ghibli, which once again demonstrates it’s amazing attention to the smallest of details. With “Ponyo,” Studio Ghibli experimented with color pencils and watercolor-like palettes and styles – all much to great success and originality. Reportedly, Miyazaki was heavily involved with the animation of Ponyo and preferred drawing the sea and waves by himself rather than depend on a computer. His fervent devotion to detail resulted in a Miyazaki-record 170,000 images and the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year in 2008.

After my initial viewing, my only complaint was that the ending felt slightly abrupt. However, upon further contemplating I feel that it is an appropriate conclusion, and heartwarmingly so. “Ponyo” is a gorgeous film with some of the most beautiful animation in recent cinema, and it is a fantastical highlight in the prestigious history of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Full of masterful storytelling, sweetness and love, the film is a definite remedy for anyone feeling a slightly blue and down, guaranteed.

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