Ponyo

11.02.2010

Film Trailer

The magical and cute goldfish princess Ponyo longs to be human. This is an imaginative and great film which is recommended for children from 6 years.

Plot
The little goldfish Ponyo lives at the bottom of the ocean floor with her father and her siblings. Her father is a strict wizard who was once human, but he left the world of men in favour of the depths of the sea, because people only destroy and disrupt nature. But Ponyo is curious about the world above the water surface, and one day she sneaks out on an adventure.

Up on the surface she is almost caught by a fishing trawler and gets stuck in a small glass. Fortunately she is rescued by Sosuke, a nice little boy who lives with his mother and father in a house on a cliff by the sea. He takes care of Ponyo, who falls in love with him. One afternoon, she opens her mouth and says that she loves him, making Sosuke very surprised and excited.

Just after this, Ponyo is brought back to the ocean floor by her father. Sondre misses her a lot, and Ponyo wishes she could be human, so that she can go back up to Sosuke. And then the miracle happens. Earlier Ponyo licked some blood from Sosuke’s finger after he saved her, and this blood enables Ponyo to use her magic to become human. She grows arms and legs, and returns to the surface.

But yet much remains to get a happy ending. It so happens that Ponyo’s magic transformation disturbs the balance between the magic sea world and the real world. This puts the earth's existence in danger. In addition, Ponyo hasn’t transformed into a human being forever. In order to fully become human, she must give up her magic powers, and she must be loved for who she really is. And so, Ponyo and Sosuke are facing a great trial. Do they have enough love for each other to want to be together forever, as ordinary people? And at the same time – will they be able to save the earth from going under?

Quality and Theme
”Ponyo” is director Hayao Miyazaki’s interpretation of H.C. Andersen’s fairy tale ”The Little Mermaid”. The result is a wonderful animated film where the imagination gets free rein. We get to see a wide variety of beautiful living and prehistoric creatures, large rolling storm waves, magical creatures and other fascinating natural phenomena. All drawings are done by hand, which gives the film a distinctive and charming style.

The movie also addresses a number of important topics. Ponyo’s father says straight out that he didn't want to live in the human world when all they do is abuse nature. The scene where Ponyo nearly is captured by the trawler is a clear critique of the fact that humans dump a lot of garbage on the ocean floor. The director also shows his commitment to the environment by showing how beautiful the sea can be if we are conscious of maintaining a diversity of species and life forms. This is emphasized further by the fact that the movie illustrates what might be the consequences if we disturb the delicate balance of nature, for example, as a result of global warming.

Suitability
”Ponyo” has a ”U” rating. Due to some dramatic scenes depicting storm and bad weather, the movie can be a bit scary for the youngest. But with an accompanying adult it shouldn’t be a problem that children from six years of age see the movie. In addition, the story’s theme and a number of fun details make this a movie that also can appeal to an adult audience.

Conclusion
Recommended!

Facts

Director: Hayao Miyazaki Genre: Adventure/Animation Voices: Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Noah Lindsey Cyrus, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, Liam Neeson and more Nationality: Japan Production Company: Studio Ghibili Lengde: 1t 41min Production Year: 2009 Age Limit: U Suitability: Family BBFC’s Consumer Advice: Contains very mild threat.