Ponyo on the Cliff Review

cute

–adjective

1. attractive, esp. in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty: a cute child; a cute little apartment.

2. affectedly or mincingly pretty or clever; precious: The child has acquired some intolerably cute mannerisms.

3. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, Studio Ghilbi Film 2009

There's is no other way to describe this new film from Master Director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, The Castle of Cagliostro) other then CUTE! It's spread over every frame like cling wrap on mondays lunch. There is a tendency for Japanese animation to walk idly down cuteness avenue with several stops at the corner of Puke Place and Retard Street. In the skilled hands of Miyazaki the ridiculous side of Anime is tamed and bigger ideas are put forward. The hand drawn cells feel more endearing and leveled then some other material aimed at the same audience.

The cute fest begins with a small boy named Sōsuke (english voice - the ever phallic Frankie Jonas) who finds and befriends a magical goldfish with a human face named Ponyo. Their forbidden relationship angers her father Fujimoto the wizard (Liam Neeson) and when Ponyo escapes to be with her new human friend she inadvertently pulls the moon from the sky causing a dangerous flood that may engulf the world. This may sound all momentous and even following Miyazaki's usual grade A formula (kids+love-environment = coolness) the final product is ultimately marred by the choice of age group. This film is not a adult/teen flick like "Mononoke" nor it it a tween flick like Spirited Away, it feels ultimately held back. Ponyo is weighed down by it's 3 - 6 year old lead and subsequent demographic which just holds everything back. The whole journey is a relativity small one considering the images and phrases that are thrown around by the characters. The love between Ponyo and Sōsuke is a little off considering Sōsuke's age (5 years old and in love for life with a sea creature or the world will end??) and the weight of what their love is doing to the world seems lost in a effort to fit the films younger audience. If Sōsuke was 9 years old then putting him in real danger (and resulting animation glory?) wouldn't have be such a stretch and the ratings and moral shackles would have been loosened. The light peppering of loss, rejection and a hint of environmentalism Ponyo is very much catering to the smaller children.

Saying all that it is a charming tail of innocence and wonder. The animation is beautiful with a bright and vibrant color pallet, remarkable water effects and really adorable character design. The archipelago that Ponyo inhabits is reminiscent the Whitsundays or Hawaii with lush greens and turbulent blues of the tropics. Over 170,000 hand drawn images were produced for this film with Miyazaki doing many himself. This amount of of drawing is unparalleled in Ghibli's history and makes for an impressive sight epically compared to older pictures made by Ghibli.

- Ponyo (100 min 54 sec): 170,653 pictures

- Howl (119 min 11 sec): 148,786 pictures

- Chihiro (133 min 24 sec): 144,043 pictures

- Mononoke (124 min 35 sec): 112,367 pictures

Some fabulous SFX and folly work really show what a class act Studio Ghibli is in 2009. I have to recommend this great cute fest to anyone wanting to treat their kids to something that's not so generic and a whole lot of Japanese.

7.5/10.... ham