Ponyo is a film that reminds us of how joyously insane the average five year old child is. It is a film that recognizes the importance of innocence and innocent love. Ponyo is a joy to behold and offers plenty of toddler-like shenanigans for viewers of all ages.
Brunhilde (Yuuri Nara/Noah Cyrus) is a goldfish-like creature living in the sea with a seemingly oppressive father, sea wizard Fujimoto (George Tokoro/Liam Neeson). One day, Brunhilde escapes her father’s watchful eye and gets trapped in a glass jar. Sōsuke (Hiroki Doi/Frankie Jonas), a five year old boy living on a cliff by the sea, finds and frees her, but has his finger cut in the process. Not knowing that Brunhilde is her given name, Sōsuke dubs her Ponyo. Ponyo licks clean the blood from Sōsuke’s finger, causing her to begin to take on human traits, slowly transforming her into a small human girl. The two bond before becoming separated when Fujimoto eventually locates his wayward daughter, but they are soon reunited in spectacular fashion and set off on a grand adventure of friendship, love, and absurd childhood antics.
I think the most remarkable thing about Ponyo is how well Writer-Director Hayao Miyazaki captures the essence of a very young child, especially one who is just discovering her latent humanity. The interactions between Sōsuke and Ponyo feel alive and real. Sōsuke has been human his whole life, so his experience allows him to teach Ponyo how to be human in a totally friendly and nonjudgmental way. It’s clear he has a good life, but he’s also a bit lonely. Ponyo, for her part, offers him unconditional love and just wants to be near him all the time. She still doesn’t know how to be a human, and so she is running, tripping, and doing all sorts of wild and crazy things until Sōsuke and others can teach her. There is never any sense of malice from Ponyo with her antics. It’s always along the lines of “I just haven’t learned how to human yet.” In short, Miyazaki somehow perfectly captures the essence of young childhood.
Ponyo is a gorgeous film. Every scene is a painting. From the first scenes, it is clear that a lot of effort was put into making the ocean and its denizens a world full of mystery, majesty, and mysticism, and it all has that childlike essence to it that the rest of the film has. The color schemes are simple, but incredibly effective and vibrant. Many shots are framed in a way to highlight not just what Miyazaki wants us to see, but also to highlight something more subtle going on in the background. This is a film that easily survives multiple viewings.
The music by longtime collaborator Joe Hisaishi is, once again, an absolute masterpiece. With serene upper strings and woodwinds paired with constantly churning bass lines, Hisaishi manages to capture the mysterious and powerful essences of the ocean and of the creatures that call it home. He easily accents the frantic innocence of Ponyo and the burgeoning relationship between her and Sōsuke with light and playful melodies. He is also channeling his inner Wagner here, with some cues clearly serving as an homage to Wagner’s famous third act prelude from the second opera in his Ring Cycle, Die Walküre. To be fair, the story itself also takes some cues from Wagner’s famous work, as well as Hans Christian Anderson’s much adapted fairy tale, “The Little Mermaid.”
Twenty years after Miyazaki captures the essence of childhood so well in My Neighbor Totoro, he manages to do it again here in Ponyo. A slightly sluggish first act is the only thing that holds the film back, and it is a minor thing indeed. Once it gets moving, it moves at breakneck speed, and most importantly, will leave you smiling and giggling constantly at the antics of Ponyo and Sōsuke. Ponyo is a film that does not suck.
Written & Directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Starring Yuuri Nara/Noah Cyrus, Hiroki Doi/Frankie Jonas, Tomoko Yamaguchi/Tina Fey, George Tokoro/Liam Neeson, etc.
8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING (IT DOES NOT SUCK)
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