Ponyo

Composite Score: 82.44

Starring: Tomoko Yamaguchi/Tina Fey, Kazushige Nagashima/Matt Damon, Yûki Amami/Cate Blanchett, Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Writers: Hayao Miyazaki and Melissa Mathison

Genres: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Family

MPAA Rating: G

Box Office: $204.83 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Ponyo is the Studio Ghibli film from Hayao Miyazaki about a young boy who finds a magical “goldfish” and names it Ponyo. The film focuses on Sôsuke, a 5-year-old boy who lives with his mother by the sea while his father works as a ship captain in the area, and Ponyo/Brunhilde, a goldfish princess who is the daughter of a sea goddess and a water wizard who wants to know more about the world of humans. To some extent, the film is a more whimsical retelling of the story of the Little Mermaid, complete with tested love and the fish girl wanting to become a human and all of that stuff. Personally, after watching the film, I feel like that description over-simplifies this beautiful story about love and independence whose animation might also be the most visually stunning that Miyazaki has ever done. No matter what, there is no denying the greatness of Ponyo as a film.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                If you are a person who needs everything in movies to be grounded in reality and/or fully explained, then Ponyo is probably not the film for you (or any Miyazaki film for that matter). There is a lot that goes on in the second and third acts of the film that requires the audience to buy in to the magic of the world with very little outside explanation, and audiences who struggle with suspension of disbelief will probably find it hard to get on board with. The ultimate challenge of love, the film’s climax comes about rather suddenly with little preparation or explanation given, and that might be enough to frustrate some viewers. However, I don’t believe that the lack of clear rules takes away from the beauty of the film or its themes, so there’s that.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                I mentioned before that this might be Miyazaki’s most visually stunning film. From the jump, he inundates the audience with a plethora of sea creatures and underwater features that I, personally, have never seen in anything else. He continues this beautiful water sequence animation throughout the film, giving a blend of underwater scenes, scenes by calm water, scenes by raging water, and even scenes both in and out of the water at the same time. It’s beautiful, and the things that he does with the water animations are unlike anything I could have imagined. The whole time I was watching the film, I couldn’t stop thinking about the sheer beauty of the animation, which is usually true in his films, but this one was even more intensely and uniquely beautiful.

                Quality animating is not all that Ponyo has to offer though. The film’s themes of love and family are incredibly well-crafted through well-fleshed-out characters and compelling story beats. Though it draws heavily on the story of the Little Mermaid, the film’s love story is not really a romance. It focuses instead on the qualities of loyalty and unconditionality that should exist in any loving relationship, be it a friendship, like the one between Sôsuke and Pony, or family, like the ones between Sôsuke and his parents Lisa and Kôichi, or romantic, like the one between Lisa and Kôichi. All types of love are exhibited in healthy ways through the story of Sôsuke and his family, while they are also contrasted with the flawed nature of the many relationships in Ponyo’s background. Her father fears her mother and desires control of Ponyo rather than relationship. However, rather than turn these characters into outright villains, Miyazaki allows them to learn and better themselves along with the audience as they witness more healthy examples of how to love. Perhaps the most compelling contrast is that between Lisa, Sôsuke’s mother, and Fujimoto, Ponyo’s father. The contrast of their parenting styles comes through in every moment, though both are also shown to have their children’s best interests at heart. Ultimately the contrast in their parenting styles allows the film to hold a lesson not just for its younger audiences, but for parents watching with them as well. Miyazaki has a track record of creating compelling and memorable parental figures in his films, and these two are among the most memorable for me.

                An incredibly well-executed story about the nature of love and family pairs well with some of the most beautiful animation ever produced in Ponyo to make it one of the Greatest Films of All Time. Like most Miyazaki films, its fantastical nature and rules that are never fully explained might leave some frustrated with the outcome, but overall, it is a film worth watching without question. This film is currently available to stream on HBO Max if you are interested. I highly recommend checking it out when you have the chance.