 "Photo: Disney/Ghibli |Courtesy Photo")
It has been a phenomenal year for film audiences. I would dare say we’re entering a new golden age of cinema.
An age covering all fronts with spectacular movies like Pixar’s Up and just recently Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds. Still, the best movie I have seen by far this year is the newly released G-rated feature Ponyo.
From acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro), Ponyo is a breath of fresh air. Not only is the film traditionally animated unlike recent years’ almost exclusively CGI-based fare, it’s got a lot of heart – something missing from most films period, animated or otherwise.
For the uninitiated, which likely is anyone who reads The Campus, Ponyo tells the story of a childlike goldfish named Ponyo who falls in love with a young human boy named Sosuke.
Against her father’s wishes, Ponyo’s relationship with Sosuke inspires her to transform into a human. Unfortunately, the young lovers’ union upsets nature’s balance, but with help from Ponyo’s mother, a sea goddess, the balance might be restored at a price. It’s obviously a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid, but it works.
Unlike most of Miyazaki’s recent films, Ponyo does not have a whole lot of depth nor is it driven by any underlying political or overtly philosophical themes. On a whole, the film is quite simple and straightforward. Instead of being terribly plot-driven, Miyazaki opts to focus on the characters.
This simplicity has garnered some criticism, but, on the contrary, I find it to be a satisfying change of pace. It may not be as complex as Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke or as layered as Spirited Away, yet one can’t help but feel nostalgic watching Ponyo - thinking back to childhood memories when discovering a new corner of the house was more exciting than a day off of work.
That being said, I encourage any one of any age to watch Ponyo. The hand-drawn animation is beautiful, the storytelling is sophisticated in its own charmingly childlike way, and if nothing else has compelled you to give it a chance it also includes an impressive voice cast including Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Betty White and Liam Neeson just to name a few.
Even if animated features aren’t your cup of tea, you owe it to yourself to suspend your disbelief for 100 minutes and absorb your mind into the well-crafted world of Ponyo.With a limited theatrical release in America, one should take any opportunity to see it before it’s too late.
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