entertain

Hayao Miyazaki, award winning Japanese director-animator, released Ponyo on August 14, 2009 in the United States and Canada. The story begins when a little goldfish with magical powers swims away from home and is found by a boy named Sōsuke. Sōsuke names her Ponyo and vows to protect her forever. However, Ponyo’s father, Kōichi, strongly believes that human beings had kidnapped her. While Ponyo strives to free herself from her father’s grasp and to stay by Sōsuke’s side as a person, Kōichi struggles to keep her safe at home, away from the human population. Throughout the movie, Sōsuke faces many tests and challenges to bring his family together and to prove his dedication and love for a new friend.

Ponyo is a suitable cartoon for audiences of all ages, just like all of Miyazaki’s other productions. There are points in this movie that any age group can relate to. Children can connect to the minds of Ponyo and Sōsuke, while adults and teenagers can relate to the issues in this movie, such as family problems and personal responsibilities of the characters. And like many other cartoons, Ponyo brings out the audience’s creative minds. It lets viewers reflect on their stress free childhood and allow their imaginations to arise once again. This movie proved to be a success as it reached ninth place in the box office charts on the opening week.

Although this new Miyazaki production captured the attention of many people, it fails to reach the standards set by his other movies. A key quality to most of Miyazaki’s movies is the line of distinction between good and evil. There are usually two sides that have a goal for different or opposing reasons, and it is almost impossible to determine who belongs on what side. In Ponyo, the two sides presented are clear, but not very distinct. Sure, Kōichi and Sōsuke both want to stay with Ponyo. But this issue only shows the separation and the importance of family and friends. The conflict here did not leave me questioning about the pros and cons of each side, like I did while watching Princess Mononoke, another movie by Miyazaki. The movie also becomes a little hectic at times, mainly because of Ponyo’s actions. I heard a quote one time about how a critic described Ponyo. He stated that a person who is high or drunk will understand and really enjoy this movie. I agree with this point because many events in the movie are too crazy for a “normal” mind to comprehend and take in.

This movie would be best for children at the elementary stage, due to their activeness and their relatively simple minds, compared to older viewers. Ponyo will only work for some teenagers because they have a better understanding of events and have a more complex way of thinking about movies. This movie does not seem like one that was made specifically for adult viewers, but they may get a few laughs out of it. Overall, the animations are outstanding, along with Miyazaki’s illustrious imagination. Little Mermaid lovers should not miss Ponyo.