Ponyo

• (Japanese: 崖の上のポニョ, Hepburn: Gake no Ue no Ponyo, lit. ‘Ponyo on the Cliff’)
• Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
• July 19, 2008

Voice Cast

• Gran Mamare-Cate Blanchett
• Ponyo-Noah Cyrus
• Kôichi-Matt Damon
• Lisa-Tina Fey
• Sôsuke-Frankie Jonas
• The Newscaster-Kurt Knutsson
• Kayo-Cloris Leachman
• Fujimoto-Liam Neeson
• Kumiko-Jennessa Rose
• Toki-Lily Tomlin
• Yoshie-Betty White
• Schoolgirl-Madison Davenport
• Young Mother-Courtnee Draper
• Fujin-Mona Marshall
• Karen-Colleen O’Shaughnessey
• Additional Voices-Crispin Freeman

A magical goldfish escapes from the ocean and is helped by a five-year-old boy after she is washed ashore while trapped in a glass jar. Never mind that goldfish are generally freshwater though they can be found in brackish water.

This film is considered a classic and to a certain extent I can see why. Ponyo starts with some stunning and fantastical undersea visuals with the title character swimming in their initial form. After maybe five minutes or so we are introduced to the other main character and the story evolves into..nothing. This is a bunch of day in the life stuff told through the lens of two small children and if they were adults it would be so very boring too.

This is approximately 100 minutes with only 20 or less that is anything much that advances the story happening. Ponyo, a goldfish with more in common physically with a ghost from Pac-Man than any fish, just moves from one random event to another in some very pretty environments. I’m not trying to be cruel or mean but this is filler bookended by actual story. Beautiful filler but filler nonetheless.

Ponyo quickly becomes a human kid and what looked like it was going to be a weird version of Finding Nemo turns into two annoying children doing whatevs. Seriously. I have no idea why Sōsuke’s mother isn’t flipping on both of them. No matter how much you love your kid that much high spastic energy breeds temporary insanity in parents. Or a substance abuse problem.

Ponyo is dealing with essentially absent parents and a father when he does become involved that won’t let Ponyo grow. Human themes but ones that often get drowned out by the more unusual elements or just plain nothing happening. Her father can be an overprotective parent trying to keep her sheltered despite her growing curiosity about the world beyond.

There is this weird concern by Ponyo’s father Fujimoto with her tasting human blood and becoming, well, human. It is an odd concern since the opportunities one can conceive of to chug down a warm glass of Human Red are rare and you become so focused on the weird obsession you miss the point it does happen and are left trying to figure out how it happened. It’s just an odd thing to be concerned over in a children’s movie. Maybe it’s a cultural thing. Maybe it’s just me.

The main thrust of the bookending story is Ponyo’s desire to be human and the accident which caused it throws the world out of balance so either a new balance must be struck or Ponyo must give up her dreams. What’s weird (this movie has plenty of the bad weird) is that the resolution is based on love. Realize that Ponyo and Sōsuke are both about five years old. Huh? It might’ve been a little different if they were slightly older, but what does any five-year-old really know about anything let alone romantic love?

The presentation of the story of Ponyo kind of meanders around. Much of what we get are side quests with nobody questioning where mother Lisa found an extra kid or her mentioning to Sōsuke’s dad who is out to sea fishing that she has a surprise of a new mouth to feed waiting at home. I cannot get past this!

Ponyo is not necessarily a bad idea but there is just a little bit too much padding in it. There’s a lot of stuff that amounts to nothing. Visually the movie is great. Will not argue otherwise. It certainly has fun with the look and dives headfirst into its fantasy elements. Not enough animated films do that.

I understand this is considered a classic, but I just don’t get it. It’s cute but it’s nothing great. It has some interesting ideas but barely deals with them. Maybe it’s because it plays too much into the cute kid element and exaggerated adult reactions. The situation as it is remains at a four and the adults’ and kids’ reactions are at an 11. Calm down.

I can see Ponyo appealing to young children and your general fan of Japanese animation. But to adults or the common moviegoer I don’t know. It’s okay but not great. Proceed with heavy caution.