Ponyo

Ponyo is a 2008 movie from Studio Ghibli and it is (ashamedly) the only movie from them that I have seen thus far—though I do have more added to my planned list for a future endeavor. Watching it again for the first time in over ten years, I’m flooded with nostalgia and of course, awe at the marvelous animation and cinematography that Ghibli is known for, besides their heartwarming, charismatic stories that while typically aimed at children are filled to the brim with lively, compelling themes and characters that can appeal to just about anyone, or so I’ve been told. It was a favorite of mine as a kid that I discovered completely on accident, and I remember watching it several more times after with equal degrees of pleasure.

The visuals are easily the biggest selling point. Everything about it screams heart, charisma and passion-- from the mesmerizingly creative way they animated the waves to look like fish in the scene where Ponyo scampers atop the ocean (you’ll have to see it for yourself) to the tiniest minutia of each character’s reactions and movements that breathe such realistic and unbelievable life into each moment, Ghibli’s staff deliver on such attention to detail that most studios would forego entirely as they aren’t absolutely essential to the narrative, but the mere fact it exists only serves to intensify my enjoyment of the film. It truly is a beautiful movie, and that’s certainly the most important reason to watch it, if anything. It sets an exciting precedent for me going forward as someone who hasn’t seen any other Ghibli films, as it comes across like Ghibli declaring “not only can we make you smile, we can animate better than your favorite studio”, promptly followed by them swinging their massive dick around and making it happen.

But I’m going to keep it completely level with you, as I believe that in all fairness that if you are bothering to read a several paragraph-long review of a movie everyone already knows is good and awesome, then you deserve a true and unfiltered opinion, highs and lows. And my personal caveat concerning this film’s quality is the plot, which doesn’t seem to be communicating much, and if it is, it most certainly isn’t obvious to me. Chalk that up to me potentially being distracted by how wonderful the visuals are, but themes aren’t something that escape me often and the impression I get from watching Ponyo as a grown adult is that this movie was purely meant to impress kids and nothing else—I mean, hey, it impressed me when I was ten. I don’t think everything needs to be deep of course-- I got enough enjoyment out of shows with absolutely nothing to speak of to rate it higher than this—but what this movie presents to me doesn’t exactly pique my interest. It’s a movie about a quirky fish that wants to become human, and that’s it, nothing special about it, and the ending doesn’t exactly sell me on the importance of it all, as it is full of slightly unrealistic dialogue and a seemingly unnecessary test of love (why does the balance of nature hang on some five year old’s recently-developed and cuteness-based love for some fish, anyway?).

Weaknesses aside, it’s still got plenty to love about it. All of the characters are at least likeable even if they don’t stand toe to toe with characters from other anime: Ponyo is quirky and full of ebullience, Lisa’s driving and questionable parenting choices are hilarious, Fujimoto is a stern yet responsible father that’s far more likeable as an adult, and Sosuke is an inoffensive main character that just captures the youthful innocence of someone his age well enough to enjoy his presence. And the octogenarian ladies are pretty funny too.

There isn’t much else to say about this film. If I ever have children I’ll probably show them this movie. As an adult, I find it charming and full of heart, though it won’t rank in my top movies or anything. Ponyo is a movie that recognizes that it doesn’t need to serve a purpose to be enjoyable and does just enough to be a pleasant experience as it is.
I give Ponyo a 72/100.