Why You’re Wrong About Ponyo
Ghibli Month — Chapter 17: Ponyo
Director — Hayao Miyazaki
Year of Release — 2008
Language — English
How Many Times Watched? — 6 times
Rating — ★★★★★
This is a Must Watch.
Bug off to all my haters. Ponyo is the best.
I can’t lie. I love Ponyo. I’ve seen it more than any other Studio Ghibli film, six times to be exact. It was the first Ghibli I bought on Blu-ray. I made my whole family watch it. I know every word to the theme song and will gladly sing it in a terrible falsetto with an accompanying dance. I even remember seeing its trailers on TV back in the day, though I thought it was just a dumb kids film back then (ten-year-old me was too cool).
What I don’t understand is all of the criticism against Ponyo. It is constantly described as nothing more than a children’s movie and often ranks toward the bottom of Miyazaki movies. It has always baffled me why people don’t care for it. It’s not Miyazaki’s best film, it isn’t even my in my top 3, but I think Ponyo deserves a bit more credit.
It is magical. It is poetic. It is irresistibly cute. It is a modern-day fairytale. It is a long-time animator’s flex on the industry he knows all too well.
Ponyo follows a five-year-old boy, Sōsuke. Sōsuke lives on a cliff by the sea with his mother. His father is often away at sea for work, rarely taking time off to spend with his family. One day before school, Sōsuke is playing by the water where he spots a goldfish trapped in a glass jar. He frees the fish, names her Ponyo, and promises to take care of her. Ponyo is a fish with a real personality, and, after getting to know Sōsuke, she desires to become human.
The story itself is rather simple, having a fairly straightforward plot with no clear antagonist. There is a singular problem with a singular solution.
But that is what’s so great about Ponyo. It is a film from the perspective of two 5-year-olds. Every bit of it is saturated in a sense of childlike wonder, from the dialogue and the characters’ decisions to the gorgeous animation and art direction.
We need to talk about the animation for a second. Traditionally, hand-drawn animation is done using cels. A cel is a transparent sheet of celluloid or similar film material, which can be drawn on and used in the production of cartoons. For instance, with Ponyo, the ships could have been drawn on cels then dragged along the sea to give the illusion of motion. Using cels allows for a faster, less labor-intensive form of hand-drawn animation. Another method that is often used is computer-generated imagery (CGI). Western animation generally used 3D CGI for the entirety of their films (thanks Toy Story). Studio Ghibli prefers a more traditional method but had been using CGI in some capacity in all of their films since Princess Mononoke.
Ponyo’s method of animation does things a bit differently. During pre-production, Hayao Miyazaki hit a creative roadblock and travelled to the Tate Britain art museum for inspiration. While there, he saw John Everett Millais’s painting Ophelia. He was enamored with the attention to detail and said, “[M]y work is shoddy compared to those artists. I was just astonished. At that point, it became clear to me. Our animation style could not go on as before.” Thus, Ponyo’s distinct style was born.
With his tenth film, Miyazaki wanted to showcase the power of hand-drawn animation. Ponyo is a masterclass of design, a real testament to the vision of its creator and the hard work from the animation team. It employs the use of solid and simple lines and would be drawn by hand frame-by-frame. In the case of the ship, the cel defined the perspective and direction of the ship going through the waves. When it is hand-drawn frame by frame, the perspective and direction of the ship can freely change and look more natural. Using this process throughout the entirety of the film gives the film a look that is wholly unique.
Watching Ponyo is a marvel. It is Miyazaki’s best-looking film by far. There is no competition. Every time I watch it, I am in awe of the jaw-dropping images on screen. It’s tough to even try to explain what it is like to watch Ponyo’s visuals. They truly need to be seen to be believed. It’s difficult to want to watch anything other than hand-drawn animation again. Nothing will ever look as good as Ponyo.
One of Ponyo’s criticisms is that it is too childish. And I’ll concede. It is a bit childish, but not without purpose. The film takes place from the perspective of five-year-olds. Of course, it’s going to feel a bit childish. But this feeling of immaturity is meant for more. Ponyo is meant to inspire wonder in the hearts of its audience, to remind them what it’s like to see the world through a child’s eyes.
Not many films are able to appeal to viewers of all ages without using jokes that will go over a child’s head, but Ponyo does it masterfully. Miyazaki respects his viewers and treats everyone the same, allowing children and adults alike to find joy in its story. Everything is meant for everyone.
I understand that not all films appeal to everyone equally. Everyone has different tastes and that is fine. But to write off a film because you think you are “too old” for it is lazy film watching. Ponyo truly is a film made for everyone. Ponyo is the perfect introduction to Studi Ghibli and the vast world of anime. I urge you to look past your presuppositions and watch a wonderful film that is truly meant for the whole family.
Plus Sōsuke and Ponyo are the cutest most adorable things you’ll watch all week. Do yourself a favor and watch Ponyo immediately.
