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Special Features
- World of Ghibli – An Extraordinary Interactive Experience
- Enter the Lands – Meet the characters and hear the story of the movie
- Behind the Studio – Discover the film’s inspiration through documentaries, including all-new interviews with Hayao Miyazaki
- Meet Ponyo – Introduction by the Producers
- Storyboard Presentation of the Movie
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Ponyo confirms Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki's reputation as one of the most imaginative filmmakers working today. Loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid," Ponyo is a magical celebration of innocent love and the fragile beauty of the natural world. The daughter of the sea goddess Gran Mamare (voiced by Cate Blanchett) and the alchemist Fujimoto (Liam Neeson), Ponyo (Noah Cyrus) begins life as an adventurous little goldfish. Chafing at her father's restrictions, she goes in search of adventure and meets Sosuke (Frankie Jonas), a good-natured 5-year-old who lives by the sea. Sosuke adopts Ponyo and quickly wins her heart. Fujimoto uses magic to bring her back, but Ponyo's love for Sosuke proves stronger than his elixirs. She transforms herself into a human girl and returns to him during a spectacular storm at sea, but her metamorphosis upsets the balance of nature, precipitating a crisis only Gran Mamare can resolve. Ponyo contains fantastic moments that suggest dreams-- and reassert the power of hand-drawn animation to create memorable fantasies: No effects-laden Hollywood feature can match the wonder of Ponyo running along the tops of crashing waves on her way back to Sosuke. Ponyo is closer in tone to My Neighbor Totoro than Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, and will appeal to audiences of all ages, including small children. The #1 film in Japan in 2008, Ponyo earned more than ¥14.9 billion (over US$155 million) to become the 8th highest grossing film in Japanese history. (Rated G: A few scary moments, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon
Product Description
Welcome to a world where anything is possible! Academy Award® winning director Hayao Miyazaki (2002, Best Animated Feature, Spirited Away) and legendary filmmaker John Lasseter together with Disney bring to life a heartwarming and imaginative telling of Hans Christian Andersen s classic fairy tale The Little Mermaid. A young boy named Sosuke rescues a goldfish named Ponyo, and they embark on a fantastic journey of friendship and discovery before Ponyo s father, a powerful sorcerer, forces her to return to her home in the sea. But Ponyo s desire to be human upsets the delicate balance of nature and triggers a gigantic storm. Only Ponyo s mother, a beautiful sea goddess, can restore nature s balance and make Ponyo s dreams come true. Ponyo will delight your family with its magnificent animation and timeless story.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: A magnificent Blu-ray release that misses perfection due to the lack of the lossless Japanese audio track
March 2, 2010
Format:Blu-ray
In 2008, Studio Ghibli released their latest Hayao Miyazaki film "Ponyo" (aka "Gake no Ue no Ponyo") in Japan and followed with a U.S. release in August 2009. The film which is Miyazaki's eighth film for Studio Ghibli has amassed several awards including the Japanese Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. The film which is budgeted around $34 million dollars made over $199 million worldwide. Where his 1988 film "My Neighbor Totoro" was Miyazaki's tale for older children, this time around for "Ponyo" he wanted to create a film for young children and was inspired from Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid".
VIDEO:
Magical, beautiful and everything that you can expect from Hayao Miyazaki. I was completely in awe when I watched this film. In this day and age, we tend to put so much into CG animated films and rarely do we see hand drawn quality animation anymore. I'm so glad that Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli continues to show this creative style through this film. The hand painted backgrounds are absolutely beautiful, the character design continues that Miyazaki look and style but looks absolutely fluid during its more action-oriented scenes.
Presented in 1080p High Definition, detail can be seen on the painted backgrounds. Vibrant during the day scenes with trees that are full of detail and water reflecting the trees, cliffs showcasing the detail as shadows and detail showcasing the curvature and the little pieces of grass that are placed within the rocks. The scene with the storm and the crashing features Miyazaki's handiwork as he created the water and his waves all by himself. It's an amazing sight to see.
There are no compression artifacts, edge enhancement, aliasing, banding or any problems in picture quality for "Ponyo" whatsoever. "Ponyo" achieves perfection!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
"Ponyo" is presented in English 5.1 DTS Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit) and in Japanese and French 5.1 Dolby Digital. First the good. The English dub track is fantastic. You want an immersive soundscape, "Ponyo" delivers. From the sound of the ocean, bubbles popping, the rush of the waves, the sounds of trees rustling, the sound of rain, sea animals swimming in the water and most of all, a beautiful musical score by Joe Hisaishi. This soundtrack is absolutely divine. Great use of front and center channels with dialogue and music that is crystal clear. The surround channels and the use of LFE as the sound effects bring "Ponyo" to life. This lossless soundtrack is perfect!
Now the bad. There is no lossless Japanese audio soundtrack. The Japanese Blu-ray release has a lossless soundtrack but what happened to it for this Blu-ray release? There is no doubt that audiophile purists who want the original Japanese soundtrack are going to be upset by this and one can hope that if Disney does bring out a Miyazaki release on Blu-ray in the near future, that a lossless soundtrack is included for both the English and Japanese audio.
Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Ponyo" has a good number of special features in 1080p High Definition and 480i Standard Definition. Audio is in English 2.0 Dolby Digital and subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish. Special features include:
* Meet Ponyo - (3:22) Executive producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy talk about working with Hayao Miyazaki and give a quick introduction to "Ponyo".
* Original Japanese Storyboards - Watch the entire film but this time with the video showcasing the original storyboards.
* A Conversation with Hayao Miyazaki & John Lasseter - (3:31) PIXAR's John Lasseter and a friend of Hayao Miyazaki talk about "Ponyo".
* Creating Ponyo - (3:58) Hayao Miyazaki talks about how he came up with the concept of "Ponyo" and him wanting to create a film for children.
* Ponyo & Fujimoto - (2:59) Hayao Miyazaki talks about the name "Ponyo" and the character Fujimoto.
* The Nursery - (2:00) Studio Ghibli Producer Toshio Suzuki talks about Miyazaki wanting to create a children's nursery and both men made Miyazaki's dream happen by creating the Studio Ghibli Nursery.
* Producer's Perspective: Telling the Story- (2:27) Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki talks about how Miyazaki works and creating the storyboards and story for "Ponyo" and more.
* The Locations of Ponyo - (9:32) An excerpt from a Japanese documentary on Miyazaki's animated films and visiting the areas that inspired Miyazaki to create the village of "Ponyo".
* Scoring Miyazaki - (7:19) A featurette about Joe Hisaishi's scoring Miyazaki films and more.
* Original Japanese Trailer - (3:22) The original Japanese theatrical trailers.
* Behind the Microphone - (6:04) Featuring the English dub voice talent talking about their role, their appreciation for Miyazaki and his films and interviews with the All-star talent.
* My Neighbor Totoro - Creating My Neighbor Totoro - (3:00) Miyazaki talking about the creation of his film "My Neighbor Totoro".
* Kiki's Delivery Service - Creating Kiki's Delivery Service - (2:27) Hayao Miyazaki discussing the creation of "Kiki's Delivery Service" and what inspired Miyazaki for the creation of the city in the film.
* Castle in the Sky: Character Sketches - (2:37) Miyazaki talks about the characters of "Castle in the Sky" and discussing how his audiences are loyal to his films over time.
* Enter the Lands - Visit the land featuring various small animated Studio Ghibli characters (from all films). Click on a character from that film (note: only "Ponyo", "My Neighbor Totoro", "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Castle in the Sky" are available) to get a Q&A or a small video info. of that film and its characters.
EXTRAS:
A DVD of "Ponyo" is included with this Blu-ray release. The DVD is in Widescreen (1:85:1) - Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions, English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Japanese and French with subtitles in English SDH, French and Spanish.
JUDGMENT CALL:
Once again, Miyazaki continues to prove to us that hand-drawn animation is absolutely beautiful and there is no need to join the pack and create a CG animated film. "Ponyo" succeeds on all levels - storyline, animation, music and its soundtrack. I absolutely loved this film!
Before I saw the film, I figured that people were so used to Miyazaki's more serious work and for him to try to go back to something similar to "My Neighbor Totoro" was going to be difficult in this day and age but with "Ponyo", he managed to pull it off. The world he creates is magical, the characters are just enjoyable to watch. From every scene, I was literally just loving the animation and the painted backgrounds and to find out that Miyazaki actually drew the sea and the waves himself using 170,000 separate images is amazing.
In terms of any deep messages on society or ecology, in "Ponyo", we see how trash and waste has been collecting on the ocean floors and Ponyo being stuck in a bottle lying in a wasteland under the sea. For Fujimoto, as he tries to maneuver underwater, waste and garbage is everywhere. So, it was great to see Miyazaki convey how people have mistreated the ocean with their garbage and incorporating it to the storyline.
The Blu-ray is absolutely beautiful when it comes to picture quality, lossless audio and also contains a good number of special features. If there was only one thing that prevents this Blu-ray release from reaching perfection is the lack of a lossless Japanese audio soundtrack. But both English and Japanese vocals are well-done with the English track featuring all-star talent with Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Betty White, Cloris Leachmen, Lily Tomlin and Matt Damon providing their voices for this film. Even Jonas Brothers sibling Frankie Jonas (as Sosuke) and Miley's younger sister Noah (as Ponyo) do a great job as the primary vocals. The Japanese soundtrack features two of Japan's top celebrities with George Tokoro lending his voice for Fujimoto and Tomoko Yamaguchi as Lisa. And also Hiroki Doi (Sosuke) and Yuria Nana (Ponyo) do a wonderful job providing the main voices for the Japanese audio track as well.
Overall, Hayao Miyazaki is truly a remarkable filmmaker and "Ponyo" is a true masterpiece. Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli show no signs of waning and they manage to capture the magic that I have felt when I was younger when I first watched Ghibli classics such as "Nausicaa", "My Neighbor Totoro", "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Laputa: Castle in the Sky". This Blu-ray release is highly recommended!
VIDEO:
Magical, beautiful and everything that you can expect from Hayao Miyazaki. I was completely in awe when I watched this film. In this day and age, we tend to put so much into CG animated films and rarely do we see hand drawn quality animation anymore. I'm so glad that Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli continues to show this creative style through this film. The hand painted backgrounds are absolutely beautiful, the character design continues that Miyazaki look and style but looks absolutely fluid during its more action-oriented scenes.
Presented in 1080p High Definition, detail can be seen on the painted backgrounds. Vibrant during the day scenes with trees that are full of detail and water reflecting the trees, cliffs showcasing the detail as shadows and detail showcasing the curvature and the little pieces of grass that are placed within the rocks. The scene with the storm and the crashing features Miyazaki's handiwork as he created the water and his waves all by himself. It's an amazing sight to see.
There are no compression artifacts, edge enhancement, aliasing, banding or any problems in picture quality for "Ponyo" whatsoever. "Ponyo" achieves perfection!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
"Ponyo" is presented in English 5.1 DTS Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit) and in Japanese and French 5.1 Dolby Digital. First the good. The English dub track is fantastic. You want an immersive soundscape, "Ponyo" delivers. From the sound of the ocean, bubbles popping, the rush of the waves, the sounds of trees rustling, the sound of rain, sea animals swimming in the water and most of all, a beautiful musical score by Joe Hisaishi. This soundtrack is absolutely divine. Great use of front and center channels with dialogue and music that is crystal clear. The surround channels and the use of LFE as the sound effects bring "Ponyo" to life. This lossless soundtrack is perfect!
Now the bad. There is no lossless Japanese audio soundtrack. The Japanese Blu-ray release has a lossless soundtrack but what happened to it for this Blu-ray release? There is no doubt that audiophile purists who want the original Japanese soundtrack are going to be upset by this and one can hope that if Disney does bring out a Miyazaki release on Blu-ray in the near future, that a lossless soundtrack is included for both the English and Japanese audio.
Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Ponyo" has a good number of special features in 1080p High Definition and 480i Standard Definition. Audio is in English 2.0 Dolby Digital and subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish. Special features include:
* Meet Ponyo - (3:22) Executive producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy talk about working with Hayao Miyazaki and give a quick introduction to "Ponyo".
* Original Japanese Storyboards - Watch the entire film but this time with the video showcasing the original storyboards.
* A Conversation with Hayao Miyazaki & John Lasseter - (3:31) PIXAR's John Lasseter and a friend of Hayao Miyazaki talk about "Ponyo".
* Creating Ponyo - (3:58) Hayao Miyazaki talks about how he came up with the concept of "Ponyo" and him wanting to create a film for children.
* Ponyo & Fujimoto - (2:59) Hayao Miyazaki talks about the name "Ponyo" and the character Fujimoto.
* The Nursery - (2:00) Studio Ghibli Producer Toshio Suzuki talks about Miyazaki wanting to create a children's nursery and both men made Miyazaki's dream happen by creating the Studio Ghibli Nursery.
* Producer's Perspective: Telling the Story- (2:27) Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki talks about how Miyazaki works and creating the storyboards and story for "Ponyo" and more.
* The Locations of Ponyo - (9:32) An excerpt from a Japanese documentary on Miyazaki's animated films and visiting the areas that inspired Miyazaki to create the village of "Ponyo".
* Scoring Miyazaki - (7:19) A featurette about Joe Hisaishi's scoring Miyazaki films and more.
* Original Japanese Trailer - (3:22) The original Japanese theatrical trailers.
* Behind the Microphone - (6:04) Featuring the English dub voice talent talking about their role, their appreciation for Miyazaki and his films and interviews with the All-star talent.
* My Neighbor Totoro - Creating My Neighbor Totoro - (3:00) Miyazaki talking about the creation of his film "My Neighbor Totoro".
* Kiki's Delivery Service - Creating Kiki's Delivery Service - (2:27) Hayao Miyazaki discussing the creation of "Kiki's Delivery Service" and what inspired Miyazaki for the creation of the city in the film.
* Castle in the Sky: Character Sketches - (2:37) Miyazaki talks about the characters of "Castle in the Sky" and discussing how his audiences are loyal to his films over time.
* Enter the Lands - Visit the land featuring various small animated Studio Ghibli characters (from all films). Click on a character from that film (note: only "Ponyo", "My Neighbor Totoro", "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Castle in the Sky" are available) to get a Q&A or a small video info. of that film and its characters.
EXTRAS:
A DVD of "Ponyo" is included with this Blu-ray release. The DVD is in Widescreen (1:85:1) - Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions, English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Japanese and French with subtitles in English SDH, French and Spanish.
JUDGMENT CALL:
Once again, Miyazaki continues to prove to us that hand-drawn animation is absolutely beautiful and there is no need to join the pack and create a CG animated film. "Ponyo" succeeds on all levels - storyline, animation, music and its soundtrack. I absolutely loved this film!
Before I saw the film, I figured that people were so used to Miyazaki's more serious work and for him to try to go back to something similar to "My Neighbor Totoro" was going to be difficult in this day and age but with "Ponyo", he managed to pull it off. The world he creates is magical, the characters are just enjoyable to watch. From every scene, I was literally just loving the animation and the painted backgrounds and to find out that Miyazaki actually drew the sea and the waves himself using 170,000 separate images is amazing.
In terms of any deep messages on society or ecology, in "Ponyo", we see how trash and waste has been collecting on the ocean floors and Ponyo being stuck in a bottle lying in a wasteland under the sea. For Fujimoto, as he tries to maneuver underwater, waste and garbage is everywhere. So, it was great to see Miyazaki convey how people have mistreated the ocean with their garbage and incorporating it to the storyline.
The Blu-ray is absolutely beautiful when it comes to picture quality, lossless audio and also contains a good number of special features. If there was only one thing that prevents this Blu-ray release from reaching perfection is the lack of a lossless Japanese audio soundtrack. But both English and Japanese vocals are well-done with the English track featuring all-star talent with Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Betty White, Cloris Leachmen, Lily Tomlin and Matt Damon providing their voices for this film. Even Jonas Brothers sibling Frankie Jonas (as Sosuke) and Miley's younger sister Noah (as Ponyo) do a great job as the primary vocals. The Japanese soundtrack features two of Japan's top celebrities with George Tokoro lending his voice for Fujimoto and Tomoko Yamaguchi as Lisa. And also Hiroki Doi (Sosuke) and Yuria Nana (Ponyo) do a wonderful job providing the main voices for the Japanese audio track as well.
Overall, Hayao Miyazaki is truly a remarkable filmmaker and "Ponyo" is a true masterpiece. Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli show no signs of waning and they manage to capture the magic that I have felt when I was younger when I first watched Ghibli classics such as "Nausicaa", "My Neighbor Totoro", "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Laputa: Castle in the Sky". This Blu-ray release is highly recommended!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
As soon as my daughter saw Ponyo, she fell in love with it. She loves My Neighbor Totoro, The Cat Returns, Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service, so this was pretty much a safe bet with her. Getting the movie's already a good deal, but the plush Ponyo included here is of great quality, and easily beats any other Studio Ghibli plush I've seen [at least here in the US].
You can see right there in the stock picture how big Ponyo is since it's right next to the dvd in the packaging. It's made of a very soft, huggable material sure to comfort any child, and it's super cute. The material is easy to clean if anything gets dirty, and the construction is very sturdy. Of course there will be some issues with a longer 'skirt' here and there (that's quality control for you), but can you really turn away such a cute character even if it's suffering from such a thing? The plush Ponyo alone runs for about the cost of this set on most sites, so getting it included with the movie is great. While I would've liked them to give the blu-ray the same treatment, it's good to have on dvd since it's beautiful to watch on either format. And hey, most parents don't let 3 year olds handle 'expensive' movies, eh?
The dvd includes the usual special features that other Studio Ghibli dvds have- an interview with Miyazaki, a short featurette and a storyboard presentation of the entire movie. This is always a very important special feature for those interested in animation, or like to see the movie in a different format and seeing how it came together before the animators stepped in. And of course, the movie's in Japanese and English with Japanese, English, Spanish and French subtitles.
If you or your child(ren) love Ponyo, this is a must. I wish Disney would've given the recent re-re-releases of Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro the same kind of gift set. Now I'm kinda jealous that my daughter has her own Ponyo. Maybe I need to order one more?
You can see right there in the stock picture how big Ponyo is since it's right next to the dvd in the packaging. It's made of a very soft, huggable material sure to comfort any child, and it's super cute. The material is easy to clean if anything gets dirty, and the construction is very sturdy. Of course there will be some issues with a longer 'skirt' here and there (that's quality control for you), but can you really turn away such a cute character even if it's suffering from such a thing? The plush Ponyo alone runs for about the cost of this set on most sites, so getting it included with the movie is great. While I would've liked them to give the blu-ray the same treatment, it's good to have on dvd since it's beautiful to watch on either format. And hey, most parents don't let 3 year olds handle 'expensive' movies, eh?
The dvd includes the usual special features that other Studio Ghibli dvds have- an interview with Miyazaki, a short featurette and a storyboard presentation of the entire movie. This is always a very important special feature for those interested in animation, or like to see the movie in a different format and seeing how it came together before the animators stepped in. And of course, the movie's in Japanese and English with Japanese, English, Spanish and French subtitles.
If you or your child(ren) love Ponyo, this is a must. I wish Disney would've given the recent re-re-releases of Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro the same kind of gift set. Now I'm kinda jealous that my daughter has her own Ponyo. Maybe I need to order one more?
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
The mother Lisa has the most poignant line in "Ponyo," saying the equivalent of "When you find yourself surrounded by magic and wonder, you don't try and understand it you just enjoy it."
To me, that is the theme and lesson of "Ponyo" ("Gake no Ue no Ponyou" or "Ponyo on the Cliffs"). After dabbling in darker themes and more adult-orientated fare like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, Miyazaki has returned to the lighter, simpler themes of the magic and mystery of childhood as found in his groundbreaking My Neighbor Totoro. One can always tell the target audience for a Miyazaki film by the age of the main character: "Spirited Away" was made for 10-year olds, "Princess Mononoke" was made for teenagers. The lead characters in "Ponyo" are 5 years old.
Like "My Neighbor Totoro," "Ponyo" is a film based on a childlike sense of joy and imagination. There is no need for a "villain" or some arbitrary conflict or threat for the children to overcome. Like Satsuki and Mei, Sosuke and Ponyo are pure at heart, and open to exploring the wonders around them. They feel their emotions without cynicism or thought, instead living in the moment and experiencing its joys, sorrows and fears.
Which is not to say there is no depth here. In "Ponyo," Miyazaki has blended two unlikely sources; Richard Wagner's pounding opera Die Walkure from Der Ring Des Nibelungen and Hans Christian Anderson's melancholy fairy tale The Little Mermaid. The essential set-up comes from "Die Walkure," where the god Wotan holds the goddess Freia captive, and is also the possessor of the Rhinegold Ring which grants vast magical powers so long as one gives up all possibility of love. As a nod to this, the name Ponyo is giving by her father is Brünnhilde, one of the Valkyrie who feels the power of the Ring and must make the choice between love and paradise. This story is skillfully blended with Anderson's "Little Mermaid," about a sea creature who must win the love of a human or be reduced to soulless sea foam.
Miyazaki essentially presents two movies. The front film is basic, colorful and easy to understand for children. The animation in "Ponyo" is some of the best that I have ever seen, with Miyazaki personally drawing much of the underwater and ocean scenes, utilizing the influence of classic Japanese ukiyo-e pictures. Miyazaki has said that "Ponyo" is his most technically complicated film, using more unique images than any previous film.
The second, deeper story is something that can only be assembled from fragments and snatches of conversation. For example, the wizard Fujimoto, Ponyo's father, was a human being who fell in love with the ocean goddess Gran Mammare, and struggled for centuries to burn away his humanity and become consort and protector for the entity he loved. More than anyone, he understands the sacrifices and struggles awaiting Ponyo when she loves someone not of her world. These story/sub-story elements are one of the things I love so much about Japanese film, where more expectations are put on the audience to read between the lines and to give thought to the unspoken as well as the spoken
I am not sure how much of this deeper story survived the translation into English, as I watched the film in Japanese. There are some nuances that probably went missing, and I am curious as to how some of the scenes were handled, such as when Lisa sings Sosuke a part of the theme song to "My Neighbor Totoro" to cheer him up when his father is not home. Some other things, such as the significance of tunnels in Japanese folklore (considered the realm of female Mountain Gods who are prone to jealousy, it is assumed that the tunnel would not take kindly to a water deity passing through. However, outside the tunnel is a statue of Jizo, the protector of children, which sends a visual clue to the audience that Sosuke and Ponyo are going to be alright.) also might pass unnoticed or appear confusing to Western audiences, although every Japanese person would inately understand this without needing to be told.
Miyazaki proved in "Ponyo" that he is still the greatest director of animated films alive. I am so thrilled to have seen this movie, and I know I will watch it again and again.
To me, that is the theme and lesson of "Ponyo" ("Gake no Ue no Ponyou" or "Ponyo on the Cliffs"). After dabbling in darker themes and more adult-orientated fare like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, Miyazaki has returned to the lighter, simpler themes of the magic and mystery of childhood as found in his groundbreaking My Neighbor Totoro. One can always tell the target audience for a Miyazaki film by the age of the main character: "Spirited Away" was made for 10-year olds, "Princess Mononoke" was made for teenagers. The lead characters in "Ponyo" are 5 years old.
Like "My Neighbor Totoro," "Ponyo" is a film based on a childlike sense of joy and imagination. There is no need for a "villain" or some arbitrary conflict or threat for the children to overcome. Like Satsuki and Mei, Sosuke and Ponyo are pure at heart, and open to exploring the wonders around them. They feel their emotions without cynicism or thought, instead living in the moment and experiencing its joys, sorrows and fears.
Which is not to say there is no depth here. In "Ponyo," Miyazaki has blended two unlikely sources; Richard Wagner's pounding opera Die Walkure from Der Ring Des Nibelungen and Hans Christian Anderson's melancholy fairy tale The Little Mermaid. The essential set-up comes from "Die Walkure," where the god Wotan holds the goddess Freia captive, and is also the possessor of the Rhinegold Ring which grants vast magical powers so long as one gives up all possibility of love. As a nod to this, the name Ponyo is giving by her father is Brünnhilde, one of the Valkyrie who feels the power of the Ring and must make the choice between love and paradise. This story is skillfully blended with Anderson's "Little Mermaid," about a sea creature who must win the love of a human or be reduced to soulless sea foam.
Miyazaki essentially presents two movies. The front film is basic, colorful and easy to understand for children. The animation in "Ponyo" is some of the best that I have ever seen, with Miyazaki personally drawing much of the underwater and ocean scenes, utilizing the influence of classic Japanese ukiyo-e pictures. Miyazaki has said that "Ponyo" is his most technically complicated film, using more unique images than any previous film.
The second, deeper story is something that can only be assembled from fragments and snatches of conversation. For example, the wizard Fujimoto, Ponyo's father, was a human being who fell in love with the ocean goddess Gran Mammare, and struggled for centuries to burn away his humanity and become consort and protector for the entity he loved. More than anyone, he understands the sacrifices and struggles awaiting Ponyo when she loves someone not of her world. These story/sub-story elements are one of the things I love so much about Japanese film, where more expectations are put on the audience to read between the lines and to give thought to the unspoken as well as the spoken
I am not sure how much of this deeper story survived the translation into English, as I watched the film in Japanese. There are some nuances that probably went missing, and I am curious as to how some of the scenes were handled, such as when Lisa sings Sosuke a part of the theme song to "My Neighbor Totoro" to cheer him up when his father is not home. Some other things, such as the significance of tunnels in Japanese folklore (considered the realm of female Mountain Gods who are prone to jealousy, it is assumed that the tunnel would not take kindly to a water deity passing through. However, outside the tunnel is a statue of Jizo, the protector of children, which sends a visual clue to the audience that Sosuke and Ponyo are going to be alright.) also might pass unnoticed or appear confusing to Western audiences, although every Japanese person would inately understand this without needing to be told.
Miyazaki proved in "Ponyo" that he is still the greatest director of animated films alive. I am so thrilled to have seen this movie, and I know I will watch it again and again.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice enough
This movie didn't excite me. It's gentle and mild, but also a bit weird and nonsensical.
Plot: 2/5 A romance between preschoolers? Read more
Plot: 2/5 A romance between preschoolers? Read more
Published 9 hours ago by Joy
5.0 out of 5 stars
love ponyo
i like this movie for it being different. its a little slower a little different. no princesses and does infuse a little bit of another culture into my children.
Published 4 days ago by starp
2.0 out of 5 stars
Totally mediocre. Kids might like it.
Sorry, but after the sterling trifecta of Mononoke, Spirited, and HMC this is like some kind of nicely animated Saturday cartoon show with a lazy plot, uninteresting characters,... Read more
Published 4 days ago by crank
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very creative design.
It is a very sweet friendship between a little boy and a litlle fish, who will be in an adventurous life.
Published 11 days ago by Fabiola Heindel
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved the story and the blu-ray version is outstanding!
Others have written about the soundtrack, japanese version vs US version, etc, etc, etc... None of that mattered to me. Read more
Published 12 days ago by bruji3
5.0 out of 5 stars
such a cute movie
I love this movie from studio Ghibili. Its very cute and although a little different from the other recent films (spirited away and howl's moving castle) I like the simple charm of... Read more
Published 21 days ago by Nicole Del Gaizo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it!
Got this adorable movie for my friend's daughter's 4th birthday because she would borrow my copy and literally cry every time she brought it back. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Sarah Serrano
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great kids movie
My kids loved getting this movie in the mail earlier than they thought we would get it. Very satisfied with the service!
Published 22 days ago by Angela Meyers
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Gift
This item shipped fast and guess what? The blu ray in the container was exactly as described. It was of the movie Ponyo. Go figure. My son loves this. Read more
Published 24 days ago by Philip Schumacher
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great movie
Bought this movie for my daughter and she cant stop watching it and i leanred how to make ponyo ramen which is really good and nice to have during cold weather.
Published 27 days ago by Rob
