Ponyo (2009)

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Noah Lindsey Cyrus, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, Liam Neeson
Genre: Animation
Runtime: 101 min

As we promised last week, this week review is dedicated to an award winning anime, and one of my personal favorites, “Ponyo”. If you haven’t seen the movie so far, then prepare to be mesmerized, enchanted and to fall in love with the world of Animes. “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” or simply “Ponyo” is the latest creation of Academy Award winning director Hayao Miyazaki. Although released in Japan in 2008, the anime could be seen by Americans a year later, on August 2009, when it was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.

Coming all the way from Japan, “Ponyo” is not a traditional “fairy-tale” cartoon which Hollywood got us used to, preserving much of the anime characteristics. Being hand-drawn by Miyazaki himself, “Ponyo” is a vivid combination between a well known story “The Little Mermaid” and anthropomorphic characters.

If the kernel of the story remains unchanged, an underwater princess who wants to become human, every other aspect of the plot line is changed. Ponyo is a fish-girl who is kept by her father, Fujimoto, in a bubble undersea to protect her from the existing pollution. Driven by the desire to be free and to explore the world, our princess escapes and is found and saved by a 5 year-old boy, Sosuke. Thinking it’s a very pretty gold fish, Sosuke takes her home being determined to take care of his new pet-fish. And while Sosuke gets fond of Ponyo, her father invokes the wave spirits to find her and bring her back, thinking that the humans have kidnapped her. The pollution and the humans’ “black soul” have determined Fujimoto, Poseidon’s counterpart, to destroy the humankind.

Recaptured by her father, Ponyo states her arduous desire to become a human person in order to be close to little Sosuke, whose feelings are the same. With the help of her sisters, Ponyo escapes again and unleashes a raw magical strength that upsets the balance of the ocean and universe. The Moon draws nearer to the Earth each moment, giant waves compel ships to drift at sea, tsunamis threaten the land. Finally reaching Sosuke, Ponyo stays by his side and helps him find his mother in the day of the aftermath by using her magical abilities. Meanwhile, all the ships that have been stranded are retrieved by Gran Mamare, Ponyo's mother and the spirit of the oceans. Barely reaching in time his mother, Sosuke must face a great challenge in his small life: to prove his love for Ponyo is true, so that she could stay alive as a human.

“Ponyo” addresses both children of all ages and their parents, being a cartoon about what friendship really is, family, and the human-nature relationship. Miyazaki exceeds the boundaries of stereotypical love relations, showing that children have a huge capacity for nurturing feelings, and that their will to follow a dream can be stronger than any obstacle. In the English version of the anime are starring: Cate Blanchett as Granmamare, Noah Cyrus as Ponyo, Matt Damon as Kochi (Sosuke’s father), Tina Fey as Lisa (Sosuke’s mother), Frankie Jonas as Sosuke and Liam Neeson as Fujimoto.

So, no matter if you are an Anime fan or just a cartoon lover, “Ponyo” is a must see, one of the best cartoons of 2009.

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