Review: Gake no Ue no Ponyo ( Ponyo of the Cliff by the Sea )
I wonder if Miyazaki will once again “retire” like he did after Spirited Away. At this point, “retiring” seems to be code for “I will wait a little while and then make another movie”, so that would probably be a good thing.
Almost all the reviews I have read about “Ponyo” have been positive. So I was looking forward to another wonderful Ghibli film when I sat down to watch it earlier this week. I was not disappointed. Ghibli fans will not be disappointed. This is a heartfelt and likeable film. In many ways, it harks back to MIyazaki’s earlier films - Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and etc. These films were intimate, character-based films which revolved around young, innocent characters. Later on, Miyazaki’s films started to become a bit more epic and large-scale (Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle). Ponyo feels more like those earlier films to me, although there are many grand sequences which shouldn’t be ignored.
The story, as you’ve probably heard, revolves around a fish who meets a human, and soon wishes to become a human. Similar to the story of “The Little Mermaid”, but of course, as a Ghibli film, once you’ve finished watching it the comparison seems ridiculous. We are taken, as in Totoro, once again to the Japanese countryside, away from the bustling city life and towards a place where everyone is friendly and knows your name. The scenes of interaction between the main character, Sosuke, and his family and acquaintances are some of the best in the film. Overall, it’s a very satisfying story. It hasn’t become a part of my top 5, but that’s only because I love certain other Ghibli films even more.
Technically, the film is again, wonderful. The animation is fluid and detailed and the colors are vivid. You will immediately recognize that this is a Ghibli film. The sound is excellent. Joe Hisashi has outdone himself with a pleasing soundtrack that adds very much to the film from beginning to end. There is really nothing negative to be said here - as always, Studio Ghibli rules the world of animation.
2 responses so far
Thanks for the review. Anyway I must disagree with this new films/old films classification.
Nausicaa and Laputa are for sure quite on the epic side, and both are older then Totoro.
Can’t wait until this gets on DVD.
Perhaps I could have worded that better. But I did not mean new/old so much as his recent (90’s and beyond) compared to the films of the late 80’s, mentioned above. Though perhaps it still isn’t warranted as even Kiki’s Delivery Servce shares elements with Howl’s and other series……I suppose My Neighbor Totoro is still the best comparison with Ponyo.