Ponyo Reviews

In 2008, the animation world eagerly awaited for another film from the Oscar Winning Mastermind. Yes, the film is Ponyo. Although the general audiences found this film not one of his bests, but critics like Roger Ebert tagged it a true art film for all ages. Boy he was right! The film tells the story of a goldfish who wants to become a human. She befriends Sosuke, a boy of 5 and the one who names her Ponyo. The film is about this friendship and a love that sprouts between the two eventually.

Yeah I know, same old film cliche of love and friendship. But this is where you are wrong. Miyazaki is expert in capturing the emotions and the movements of the characters. When you see both the kids playing, they are not just playing, you seem to be there too witnessing their beautiful friendship. There are scenes of great details like the way Ponyo sits uncomfortably in the boy's house because she's not used to human life that turns a crazy story line in to a magical one. As 90% of the film takes place in the ocean, get ready for a magical ride with sea creatures so beautifully drawn that it feels like a painting coming to life... Miyazaki is so great. I still wonder to this day how he controls the characters and the environment so perfectly? It becomes so real that even his films made for 5-year-old's entertains adults equally. Ponyo is certainly a great addition to the world of animation that Miyazaki has created and this 19 year old just enjoys getting lost in this world.

While the world is awaiting Brave that comes out from the brilliant studio of Pixar in a few months, I am more interested in what this guy is going to do next. Even after being 70 years old, this little man still has a child inside him. Ponyo proves that point once again. Get ready to be dazzled by his incredible artistry seen in Ponyo and you won't regret it.

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Nowadays, almost all the animated movies which come out are CGI animated. One of the few who's still holding strong is Hayao Miyazaki. Indeed, this guy is the living proof that hand-drawn animated features are still worth it and that they can be damned gorgeous to look at. Seriously, only just to 'see' this movie was already definitely worth a look. Indeed, you had here so many beautiful colors, awesome details and a marvelous combination of realism and fantasy. Considering the story itself, I thought it was quite enjoyable, even though it was not as strong as 'Spirited Away' which still remains by far my favorite movie from Miyazaki. Unfortunately, as usual with this director, the main character was in my opinion rather bland and uninsteresting but, on the other hand, the title character, Ponyo, was quite delightful. On a side note, I did watch this movie with my 5 year old daughter, thinking it would be a nice watch for her since it seemed to be targeted towards very young children. That was actually a mistake since it is actually more suitable for kids older than 10 years old. Anyway, to conclude, it was a gorgeous animated feature and, even though it didn’t completely blow me away, I still enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are looking for something else than the usual CGI animated flick.

Great movie based on the principles of love. Its originality helps you bypass all (little) shortcomings.

''Ponyo loves Sosuke! I will be a human, too!''

An animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human.

Noah Lindsey Cyrus: Pony

Ponyo is a 2008 Japanese animated film by Studio Ghibli, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is Miyazaki's eighth film for Ghibli, and his tenth overall. The plot revolves around a goldfish named Ponyo who befriends a five-year-old human boy, Sōsuke, and wants to become a human girl.



Studio Ghibli has always retained a special place in my heart for it's imaginative animation and luscious drawings yet the magic, like most other studios today, begins to lose some of it's original glow, this being the 8th film to be released. Spirited Away achieved the pinnacle asphyxiation with audiences levitating inspiration and creativity hand in hand. Totoro was fun, while Grave of the Fireflies had an emotional resonance and truthful acculturation regarding suffering in life.
So what new narrative and wayward path does Ponyo follow? The answer is indeed nothing new. This is simply a regurgitation of previous works with the same moral happiness fibre that accelerates them all. 7 of the titles that followed, 5 of which, exceed in excelling philosophical proportions, as well as fun and imaginative meanderings.
Don't get me wrong Ponyo is a lovely film. It's detailed and has a slow pacing which captures detail and the gorgeously drawn animation; The Sea creatures and frame rate are vibrant and perfect.
The characters all have the qualities that others had previously, but I guess who cares when Ponyo is this cute right? The untrained eye and ear will find nothing to fault with this latest offering, long term fans will perhaps know otherwise.

Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey and Liam Neeson to name an exceptional few, voice the characters in the Western voice-over version. While Yuria Nara, Hiroki Doi, Tomoko Yamaguchi, George Tokoro and Kazushige Nagashima of Japanese renown voice the Original voice-overs.
Anime Diet cited the quality of the translation, noting, "The story and the core of the film was communicated more than adequately through the professional dub and it did not get in the way of the sheer delight and joy that Miyazaki wanted to convey." Citing "slight pacing problems," it gave Ponyo a rating of 88%. The pronunciation of Japanese names in the English cinema version varied between characters, however.
The film was written, directed, and animated by the main man; Hayao Miyazaki, whom said his inspiration was the Hans Christian Andersen story, "The Little Mermaid".
Miyazaki was intimately involved with the hand-drawn animation that Ponyo has. He preferred to draw the sea and waves himself, and enjoyed experimenting with how to express this important part of the film. This level of detailed drawing resulted in 170,000 separate images—a record for a Miyazaki film.
Ponyo's name is an onomatopoeia, based on Miyazaki's idea of what a "soft, squishy softness" sounds like when touched.
The seaside village where the story takes place is inspired by Tomonoura, a real town in Setonaikai National Park in Japan, where Miyazaki stayed in 2005. Some of the setting and story was affected by Richard Wagner's opera Die Walküre. The music also makes reference to Wagner's opera. The character of Sōsuke is interestingly based on Miyazaki's son Gorō Miyazaki when he was five. Sōsuke's name is also derived from the hero in the famous novel The Gate.

Overall, it is a very simplistic story with the usual quality, enjoyable and with rich textures. Ponyo will please any simple minded individual who enjoys seeing the World from a Child's vantage point. However, Miyazaki fails to imitate his glory achieved by numerous past projects, which is predictable and yet disappointing. Ponyo in fact feels like a watered downed version reminiscent to Totoro, which was innocent and realistic. Yet with Ponyo the story doesn't transition as smoothly as it should. The beginning seems disjointed, while the later segments begin to flag and become pretentious conclusions.
The lovely sea creatures and action segments of the storm make me forgive and forget most qualms. Ponyo is imaginative 2D art which eclipses and adds a needed change from the PIXAR monopoly constantly hypnotising little boys and girls.

Ponyo caught my attention ever since I heard it was going to be Miyazaki's next film and I like his films. Ponyo reminded me a lot of the Disney classic The Little Mermaid as I was watching it. It is a beautiful film for the family. It is a story on love, bravery and friendship which made it a personal film. Like all Miyazaki animated films, the audience are entering a different world. I mean, Ponyo has its similarities with The Little Mermaid but there are differences as well. For example, it was involving a lonely boy and a fish wanting to be a girl whereas in The Little Mermaid, it involved a mermaid and a prince. Also, Ponyo isn't a musical and it isn't quite as dark as The Little Mermaid. I couldn't believe that this wasn't nominated for Best Animated Picture this year! It wouldn't have beaten Up but it would've given it a tough battle for the award.


Ponyo is a fish-girl who lives in an aquarium in her father Fujimoto's underwater castle with numerous sisters who are fish like herself but smaller. When Fujimoto takes her and her siblings on his submarine, Ponyo swims away. She ends up stranded on the beach of a small town and is rescued by a boy called Sōsuke. After this, Ponyo and Sōsuke make an odd yet very beautiful and powerful friendship that does start to turn into love. The English version of Ponyo (which I watched) had a great cast with a few of talented and very well-known actors in it. That version starred the voices of Cate Blanchett (as Granmammare, Ponyo's mother), Matt Damon (as Kōichi, Sōsuke's father) and Liam Neeson (as Fujimoto, Ponyo's father).


It is a simple fact that Hayao Miyazaki is one of the best animated filmmakers that has ever lived and I am proud to say that Ponyo is another masterful creation of his. It's a shame that Miyazaki's films aren't released in Britain until about 1 year after their original release but it is damn sure worth the wait. I mean, yes Miyazaki used a lot from The Little Mermaid but he actually manages to make it better than that one. Miyazaki was involved in the hand-drawn animation in the film. Miyazaki preferred to draw the sea and the waves himself and this level of drawing had 170,000 separate images. That was a record for a Miyazaki film. Miyazaki isn't just a very talented director and animator but he is a great screenwriter as well.


Overall, Ponyo is another Miyazaki masterpiece. It probably isn't as sophisticated as Spirited Away but definitely is one of his best creations and one of the best films of 2009.