Movie Review - 'Ponyo'

Ponyo Starring Noah Cyrus, Frankie Jonas, Liam Neeson, and cate Blanchett Directed by Hayao Miyzaki Rated G

Hayao Miyazaki’s latest animated film, Ponyo, lands on American shores with a kind of impurity that doesn’t exist in his earlier work distributed in the U.S., and it’s no fault of the movie’s revered creator. The Miyazaki films are released in the states by Disney; maybe you’ve heard of that company. But because it’s now a Disney product instead of merely the result of years of Miyazaki’s craftsmanship and his seemingly boundless visual imagination, two of the lead characters are voiced by Noah Cyrus and Frankie Jonas, both members of the famed Disney singing families. It’s not that they aren’t competent enough for this kind of work, but their inclusion appears to be missing the point of Miyazaki’s entire career. He prides himself on forsaking commercialism in favor of art, which suddenly becomes a murkier concept here. His films span the past 30 years and include some absolutely essential viewing in animation – My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away. Miyazaki weaves socio-political themes throughout most of his movies, which also feature a distinctive look even within the world of Japanese animation. It’s not really possible to watch one of his creations the way you can an Ice Age 3; turning your brain off is not an option. Ponyo is a reworking of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, familiar ground for Disney. The mermaid (Cyrus) runs away (or swims away) from her home in the sea, washing up on a distant shore. She is rescued and befriended by a five-year-old boy named Ssuke (Jonas), and the mermaid resolves that she will become human and spend her life with her new friend. Some details from the Andersen fairy tale have obviously been changed, but the crux of it remains much the same. To a large extent, the appreciation that can be derived from Ponyo is linked more to its filmmaker than the well-known and often adapted story. It helps to have a fairly broad understanding of his work, however.

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Trailer for Miyazaki's 'Ponyo'

Hayao Miyazaki's career in film animation is rivaled by only a few people. Walt Disney, Chuck Jones, pick a couple others. One of the true artists of visual media, Miyazaki has over the past decade or so expanded his sphere of influence to include the United States and other western countries. In Japan, he is rightly a legend.

Miyazaki's Spirited Away won the Best Animated Oscar, and it's not even his best film. Check out his stuff if you never have, although if you're a real fan of animation, you probably already have. It's heartening to see that Disney appreciates his work so much to give it a fairly level playing field here in the states. His new film, Ponyo, was a smash in Japan and it gets its American debut at the Los Angeles Film Festival this week before officially opening on August 14th. Here's the new trailer for Ponyo, from one of the unquestioned masters:

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