Ranked #192

Gake no Ue no Ponyo

3 words describe this movie: Death By Cuteness [Note: This review is based off of the Japanese version, not the Disney dubbed one!]

If you thought Totoro was cute, you ain't seen nothing yet. Ponyo is the cutest little...fish-girl ever. The movie is loosely based on "The Little Mermaid," but don't think Disney. Think instead of when you were a kid, and the world was brighter, magical, full of wonder and delight. Those are the feelings which describe what happens when you enter the world of Miyazaki.

Story - Although there's more story to Ponyo than your average Miyazaki film (eg: Totoro again), the film is geared more to a younger audience, and therefore has simply a slow progression of events which unfold for the main character Sousuke, who saves what he calls a "goldfish" from the ocean, trapped in a jar. Unbeknownst to him, her father is looking for her, as she has run away from home. Sousuke, however, promises to protect the "goldfish" he names "Ponyo," and Ponyo slowly becomes more and more human as she spends time with Sousuke.

Art - The art is great Miyazaki as usual. This time, the art reflects a child's view of the world. I particularly liked the backgrounds that look they're colored pencil/crayon/chalk (though still drawn with lots of detail) and the sea creatures. Actually, any of the ocean scenes are amazing. It felt like I was in an aquarium.

Sound - The beginning of the movie was an opera piece, which was quite interesting, and a normal orchestral score after that. The seiyuu who played Ponyo has the most adorable voice too. Voice acting throughout was top-notch.

Character - If you do not fall in love with Ponyo, you have no heart. She's innocent and adorable. Sousuke seems really smart for a 5-year-old, and very kind, obedient, and generous. If I had kids, I'd want them to be like the characters in this movie. The "grown ups" seem to be overly cheery, and this was the main thing I found incredulous in the film. What kind of mom leaves 2 kids alone at night? What kind of adults seeing 2 kids alone in a candle-powered boat, simply wave hello to them? What kind of adults calmly talk to sea-spirits like they're next door neighbors?? Yeah, this only happens in Miyazaki world.

Enjoyment - I love the ocean, and little kids (when they're not brats), and the whole fish-out-of-water element (haha, this movie literaly has a fish-out-of-water), so I obviously loved this movie. You know it's great when you get out of the movie theater and you`re still smiling.

If you like other Miyazaki movies, I think you'll like this one. If you don't like slow paced, slice of life (with a dash of magic) movies, then you probably won't enjoy it as much. If you do, just sit back, relax, and let Miyazaki take you to another world...



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Hayao Miyazaki's work is and always will be outstanding. Although some may complain because Ponyo wasn't up to par with some of his more serious work, we do have to keep in mind that Ponyo is geared to small children. With this knowledge on hand, it's a heart warming movie that is meant to showcase the innocence and purity of a child's heart. At least that's what I gathered from it. I've seen the Japanese version and not the Disney dub. These are my own opinions after all, sorry if they disagree with anyone's. Enjoy!

Story:

The story itself is kind of like a loose interpretation of the little mermaid, sans evil octopus witch. There is no clear "villain" to the story, as with many of Miyazaki's other works. The closest thing I'd have to say is Ponyo's father, a sorcerer who believes humans are vile creatures who destroy the ocean. It's really a lighthearted story about a fish and a boy who share a really pure and innocent love for each other. These days everything is tainted and complicated and blah blah, so it was a nice break to see Ponyo, which really showcases how beautiful a child's heart and emotions can be. The movie wasn't really in-depth and complex, but I think that's part of it's charm. Not everything has to be super complex, full of plot-twists and deep, revealing moments for it to be a good and enjoyable story. Ponyo tells it's story in a simplistic manner, calling for an emotional response rather than a rational one. If you're expecting Matrix level depth, look elsewhere...

Art:

As always, Miyazaki's works are visually dazzling. From the very first scene to the last, you'll be amazed at all of that hand-drawn magic. From the calm scene of thousands of detailed sea creatures to the action-packed, awe-inspiring waves of giant fish clashing against the roads and mountains, you wont be able to believe how beautiful the world that was created in Ponyo truly is. The characters are lovable and endearing in the way they were drawn, especially fish-form Ponyo and her little sisters (you'll certainly be screaming "KAWAII!" more than a few times). As always, Miyazaki's work is an animation masterpiece.

Sound:

Unfortunately, I don't pay attention to sound as often as I should! Ponyo's sound went along fine with each of the scenes as a complement rather than a distraction. The end song was pretty cute also!

Character:

Ponyo and Sousuke as the main characters certainly achieved a heartwarming sensation on me and the rest of the viewers. They're lovable characters you instantly take a liking to and as far as Ponyo goes, you cheer for her all the way. Even Fujimoto is a likable character, and as stated before, he's as close to a villain as you'll get in this movie. You are introduced to a few other characters, each with their own amount of appeal. I don't believe that the movie achieved any super in-depth look into the characters but I also think that because of the audience it was aimed to and the story itself, it was best this way.

Enjoyment:

Simply fantastic. It's a fun movie that everyone in the family can watch and enjoy. It's not something that will cause you to have an epiphany or that will reveal some sort of universal truth, but it'll definitely show you something about what we all once had and unfortunately lost along the way.... and kids will certainly love it!


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Very adorable movie. This is possibly one of the cutest animes I have seen in a while.

Story - The story definetly wasn't what made this a good movie. While it was a good story, I felt that it went by too slow. That and the fact the subs that were released obviously weren't made by someone fluent with the english language. I guess it's kind of soon to be jumping into rating the story as the real english version might make it a little more tolerable.
Other than that, this is definitely a children's movie, thus the story wasn't too deep. Think Totoro with a tad bit more plot.

Art - I was absolutely amazed by the art. As usual for a Miyazaki film, the art made the movie really enjoyable, despite the lack of a real story. I got the feel of an older disney movie while watching it and that made it really enjoyable for me. This movie could be completely enjoyable without any dialougue, as most of the story unfolds in the visual aspects.

Sound - The music, like the animation, reminded me of an older disney movie (For example, The Fox and The Hound or Pinocchio). It mde the movie easy to watch and added to the enjoyment factor. I also absolutely adore the main theme. It's catchy and will probably be in my head for weeks to come.

Character - The main characters of this movie were absolutely ADORABLE. Throughout the whole movie the words "I want one!" went through my mind. I felt the characters were for the most part pretty well developed.

Enjoyment - The overall cuteness of this movie made me squee with joy. Within the very first 5 minutes, I had a huge smile on my face and felt overall warmth enveloping me. It was a very easy movie to enjoy.

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Miyazaki. What comes to mind when you hear that name? Cute characters? Great movies? Remarkable talent? Any of these would be normal and deserved. There isn't a person in their right mind whose heart didn't warm itself while watching Tortoro, or fluttered with excitement in Sprirted Away. Which is why when Ponyo was announced, their was born an anticipation. An anticipation for the same Miyazaki magic that has touched us time and time again.

And it is also why the disappointment was so great.

Ponyo was bad. The plot had holes large enough to happily sail through and the characters were about as two-dimensional as you can get; depth wise, not graphic wise. Now the animation and the music is what you'd expect; Beautiful, inspiring, and amazing. But they do not save this film, the Miyazaki legacy does.

The Miyazaki legacy has the mindless majority praising this film solely based on the name and preceding accomplishments. I guarantee, however, of its own merits Ponyo would be quickly forgotten and ignored due to its many flaws.

I dare anyone to try to explain to me what this movie was even about without delving into any folklore or mythology that wasn't properly represented or explained in the film. I dare myself to make sense of it. I dare Miyazaki to try this again and make it more like his other films! Y'know, the ones with the action, danger, and heart-wrenching drama? NONE of that was here!

In fact, I can re-tell the story of Ponyo in five easy sentences without missing a thing.

Ponyo is a fish girl that decides to run away from her little fish sisters and her crazy-cool father. She meets a boy named Sosuke and they play together. Ponyo has magic powers and, for the hell of it, tsunamis Sosuskes' hometown. Ponyo and Sosuke go to look for Sosukes mom who ABANDONED the children during the tsunami.Ponyo and Sosuke run into their moms and dads, innocently and without hesitation proclaim their lukewarm, mild-mannered lover for one another and SAVE THE WORLD...somehow.

Did I mention the world was in danger? Neither did the movie, cept in passing once and at the very end. "Oh and, by the way, you saved the world from complete and utter annihilation!....somehow"

What a mess. That all said...it wasn't terrible. I still enjoyed what I was watching but I would compare to it to cloud watching; calm, beautiful, enjoyable, but with no sense of danger, drama, or action anywhere in sight. Not a hint of villainy or doom or even excitement. Just....clouds, harmlessly and happily floating along. And if thats the story Miyazaki wanted to tell, then fine, but by all accounts, thats just boring.

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It has been widely agreed that Hayao Miyazaki is a master at his craft when it comes to combining rich animation with thoughtful storylines and similarly imaginative characters. His movies, from Nausicaa, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, and Princess Mononoke to the recent Howl's Moving Castle are all not only gorgeously rendered in terms of art, but in terms of moviemaking as well. Can this man do no wrong? Not really, but it is impossible to expect everyone of his movies to always be five star marvels. His newest film, Ponyo, an unashamedly family-friendly tale of a "goldfish out of water", is as lushly animated and alive with interesting characters as you would expect... and yet this is the first film of his which treads into "lesser" territory. Don't get me wrong, Ponyo is not a bad movie by any means. As mentioned, it is a sight for the eyes and is as charming and adorable as Totoro and Kiki. The problem is that the story doesn't stay afloat to satisfy anyone eager for another engrossing, in-depth plot.

It starts out on a moonlit night underwater, in which we see one Fujimoto, a mysterious (and somewhat neurotic) magician on the prow of his submarine, metamorphosizing plankton into live-size jellyfish. During this, a cute little goldfish (with the head of a human) swims out of his craft and takes a forbidden voyage to the "human world". Before you know it, she finds herself in the arms of Sosuke, a little boy (who bears a strange resemblance to Kanta from Totoro but is more like Pazu from Castle; interestingly, the director created him after his own son) who finds himself quite taken with her. What begins is a variation of the "boy gets goldfish-struggles to hide goldfish-loses goldfish" scenario. This is the best part of the entire movie, in which it showcases Miyazaki's fascination with childlike discovery and the struggles of keeping a new friend a secret. It should be interesting to note that he never butts heads with his mother about this.

At this point I am going to take a break and talk about who is my favorite character in the movie--Lisa, the mother of Sosuke. She's caring, kind, and very supportive of her son, but also has a bit of an aggravated temper, particularly when she gets annoyed with her seafaring husband, Koichi, for continually staying out at sea instead of keeping his promise to return home. In one memorable and hilarious scene, where Sosuke is sending a flash signal from the front porch of his house, an incensed Lisa makes no secret showing her disdain for her husband staying away from his family (Sosuke, naturally, softens the whole thing by sending a friendlier message after seeing a light show from his father's ship). She is also a VERY reckless driver, as witnessed in the scenes where she narrowly zooms her car across a dock where a ship is about to pull in. It helps, too, that I happen to have a parent named Lisa, who is pretty much the same person (save for the driving part).

Anyway, Fujimoto takes the goldfish (whom Sosuke has named Ponyo) back to his underwater farm and tries to talk her into staying away from humans. Ponyo, however, who has taken a liking to Sosuke's hand sandwich (and tasted his human blood from a cut on his finger) insists on becoming human. So, of course, she breaks into her father's secret chamber and drinks his magic elixir. Before you know it, Ponyo becomes a hyperactive four-year old with short crimson hair (the spitting image of Mei from Totoro) with magic powers; she rides on an oversized tsunami of fish across the ocean in search of Sosuke, sending a hurricane all over the entire town. (This sequence, in which gargantuan ocean waves threaten to swallow Sosuke and Lisa's car as they blaze toward their home on a cliff, is the most exciting in the entire movie.) The storm ends when Ponyo finally finds Sosuke and is subsequently taken in by Lisa.

It is after this moment, unfortunately, when Ponyo starts to run out of momentum. Although the scenes where Ponyo and Sosuke share a dinner of ham and noodles are cute and funny, many of the subsequent sequences slide into somewhat sluggish territory. The focal point of the plot is when environmentalist Fujimoto and his wife, a diaphanous sea-goddess named Gran Mamare (with the ability to shift from a titanic giant into a human sized woman) decide to test both Ponyo and Sosuke to see if the youngsters' love can save the entire planet, which, at this point, is in danger of becoming totally enveloped by water (the moon having grown to enormous size and satellites drifting into the ocean). Using a toy boat (oversized by Ponyo's magic), the two youngsters set out across their world, now transformed into an underwater aquarium, complete with gargantuan fish in search of Sosuke's mother. These scenes are still a lot of fun, especially when they are stopped by a fleet of friendly passengers, including a mother with her sickly baby.

Naturally, one would expect a finale of tension and real trauma to cap off such a story, and that is where Ponyo finally takes on water; the actual ending is both anti-climactic and undermines the joy and imagination that came before. It really is a shame, too, because for the opening hour and fifteen or so minutes, Ponyo is the embodiment of a child's watery fantasy captured on film. In fact, the entire aura of Ponyo feels like a fairy tale for children, and the movie plays out as such, and it is disappointing to discover that it doesn't finish as strongly as it starts.

On a technical level, Ponyo cannot be faulted. The animation is absolutely gorgeous to look at, produced entirely without a single shot of computer-generated-imagery, and naturally Joe Hisaishi provides us with yet another breathtaking musical score; the best moments being the rousing sequences underwater, accompanied by a chorus and a soprano voice. And the backgrounds are lovingly painted and detailed as any other Ghibli movies.

Having proved themselves worthy on translating and dubbing Ghibli's previous movies into English with top-quality results, Disney Studios and Pixar once again provide an English translation (courtesy of E.T.'s Melissa Mathison) and a mostly capable cast of actors. Compared to most of their other dubs, though, I do have some issues, although in all fairness, not enough to discourage anyone from giving it a view. Frankie Jonas (youngest member of the Jonas Brothers) is surprisingly good as Sosuke, sounding very natural and believable throughout. Noah Cyrus (younger sister of Miley Cyrus of Hannah Montana) as Ponyo, on the other hand, sometimes goes overboard in shouting her lines before eventually settling down toward the end. Leads aside, the rest of the cast includes Liam Neeson as the overprotective Fujimoto (who manages himself unsurprisingly well in the character), Cate Blanchett as Gran Mamare (in a reverberated voice and omnipresent tone which is not much different from her Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings), Matt Damon as Sosuke's father Koichi (who is good but nothing to write home about), and Tina Fey as Lisa. Of them, Fey is the best voice in the entire cast, imbuing the character with just the right amount of spirit and personality. Her scenes with Sosuke show real chemistry. On the other hand, Cloris Leachman, who was spectacular as Dola in Castle in the Sky, is disappointingly wasted as one of three handicapped elderly women (she barely has any lines!), who are also voiced by Betty White and Lily Tomlin. Of them, only Tomlin's character, a cantankerous woman named Toki, shows any real personality, but if I were casting the movie, I'd switch Tomlin with Leachman. The script adaptation flows well for the most part, although the inclusion of Japanese honorifics, like "sensei" and "san" feel somewhat out of place for a dub that's supposed to be targeted toward a wider audience. Probably the only really jarring drawback of the dub is a blasty techno-remix of the film's catchy (but ridiculously repetitive) title song, which thankfully doesn't occur until midway through the closing credits. Considering that the rest of the movie features a lovely score and a soprano-belted opera number at the beginning, it's a very curious, unfortunate marketing ploy. Compared to Disney's other dubs for Ghibli, this one is less seamless, but it still does its job well for the most part.

On the whole, Ponyo is a good film; a fine piece of animated work which is perfect for youngsters and family audiences. Due to the loss of momentum toward the end, though, it falls far short of classic status. Since Miyazaki at his least is still better than a majority of other animated films, though, I'll be generous and give Ponyo a full star recommendation, because any feature of his is still very much worth watching, particularly on the big screen. (Be sure to catch it in the theaters while you can.) read more

I usually don't care for stories that have pre-school protagonists, but Hayao Miyazaki easily made me forget that as he wove his magic once again in "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea". This is a beautifully simple story that wonderfully demonstrates all of Miyazaki's strengths as a director and writer. It also demonstrates some of Miyazaki's weaknesses as a director and writer, but those only add to the overwhelming charm of the movie.

What we have here is a thoroughly modern movie that at the same time captures all the timelessness of great story telling. Ponyo is a dauntless heroine and Sousuke is her perfect knight. Never-the-less, the screen is stolen every time Ponyo's father Fujimoto or Sousuke's mother Risa are on the screen.

But the real "heros" of the movie are the animation and the way that Miyazaki's imagination is let loose. The scenes of the "living sea" during Ponyo's storm are absolutely breathtaking, as are the scenes after the storm, which are reminiscent of the post-storm scenes in "Spirited Away".

But at the same time, Miyazaki's penchant for bringing in visually disconnected concepts also shows up in the post-storm scenes. The idea of having prehistoric fish and sea creatures appear is initially entertaining, but after a while their constant presence blunts their original surprise effect.

As with many Miyazaki films, "Ponyo" has periods of almost no dialog, particularly at the beginning. Never-the-less, the dialog that does show up is often quite entertaining, such as Ponyo's line when she asks Sousuke if his father is a "bad sorcerer" (implying of course that is what Ponyo thinks of her father).

All-in-all, the film is full of wonderful surprises about the characters, the situations, and the world where they live. This is a great film and definitely deserves to be on the collection shelf of all Miyazaki fans. I won't wait for the R1 to come out; I've already ordered the R2 release. When you eventually get a chance to watch "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea", don't miss the opportunity either.
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May I just start by saying that I am a big time Miyazaki fan. I loved Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (haven't as of yet seen his other ones). So, for someone who very much enjoys previous Miyazaki endeavors, Ponyo in a word is: disappointing. Yes, it's obviously for little kids (why Miyazaki couldn't make another family film that we could all enjoy is a bafflement to me), but even for children, it'd be boring.

~Story~

So a little fish girl endowed with magical powers wants to become human to stay with a little boy she meets named Sosuke - a tale loosely based on the original telling of The Little Mermaid (there's even a reference to turning into sea foam). Seems straightforward, yes? Well, for the most part it is...expect at the climax when plot most matters.

Like the original Little Mermaid, a major, life-altering decision must be made concerning Ponyo's future. Unfortunately, this decision and how it's reached is built-up, vaguely explored, and then reached with absolutely no pay off whatsoever. It's akin to asking someone if they would rather wear a red shirt or a blue shirt, they pick the red one, and balloons and rainbows! Everyone is saved! YAY! Miraculously and with no explanation as to how that red shirt helps avert major disaster.

The main issue with the story is that it's very disjointed and wants so much for everyone to be happy and riding on unicorns that no real conflict or danger ever actually enters into the equation, even though dangerous scenarios that could be developed are constantly flirted with (ex: men being lost at sea, the deaths of thousands, the loss of land, the reversion of a person into sea foam etc...). These issues are mentioned with a melodramatic "GASP!" and then either ignored or solved in lightening fast speed a la the reasoning of a five-year-old. In short, it's patronizing, insulting both the intelligence of adults and children.

Heck! Even Totoro had more depth and plot and didn't treat the possible loss of a child in such a "light-hearted" fashion. Totoro introduced actual calculated conflict or, at the least, intriguing events in a timely fashion so that the story progressed at a pace that kept things interesting. Ponyo lags on and on and on and thinks about introducing conflict and then skirts away from it to continue to drag on and on and on.

~Art~

Eh, the art is mediocre. I know, I'm horrible for saying that, but the cutesy "let's draw so it looks like children did it" style is only entertaining for so long. Granted some of the sea creatures were done very well and were very interesting to look at, but personally, I couldn't shake the impression the entire film that the backgrounds and environments were flat. Instead of drawing them in a manner that suggests that they extend beyond the scene into a real, 3D atmosphere, they just felt like "here's a flat backdrop in front of a car lot, pretend it's real." Spirited Away's environments didn't feel this way, and were full of detail and life. Even the individual characters were bright and multi-dimensional. Ponyo just didn't achieve that. However, I will also concede that Ponyo as a fish was incredibly well-done and believable. Her fish-like face and eyes really made her character the most intriguing.

~Sound~

I can't really comment because aside from the obnoxiously catchy ending credits music, I don't recall any of the music. The English voice actors (I did see this in theaters) did great jobs according to the script.

~Character~

Here's another huge issue with Ponyo. The characters were all poorly defined and again so geared toward butterflies and fuzzy kittens that they acted unrealistically and contradictorily. What mother leaves two five-year-old in a flood out of The Old Testament alone? What mother takes in this little girl from nowhere and doesn't try to find her parents? Why is the cranky and mean old woman suddenly nice at the end? Why does she urge Sosuke not to go with Ponyo's dad? Why is Ponyo's dad so people-hating, and then suddenly begging for humans not to think ill of him? Why is he okay with Ponyo's ultimate fate? What the heck is he even doing anyway? Why's he there? What purpose does he serve really? Other than to be an annoying and totally inefficient obstacle to Ponyo's happiness?

~Overall~

In conclusion, Ponyo might have been an entirely charming short had it only lasted about ten minutes. As it is, it has no business spanning hours and drags pitifully. It's like the creators had fifty different ideas and instead of narrowing them down to go in one direction or the other, they just decided to try to "incorporate" them all. Ponyo could have been great, it really could have, had they ironed out the plot and characters, treated the story in a non-intelligence insulting way, picked a direction, and stuck with it. Come on! Even classic fairytales aren't 100% fluff. I really hope that Miyazaki's next film isn't such a let-down.
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I just got back from seeing Ponyo in the cinema here in the US, so this will be based on the Disney dubbed version.

I really adored this film. It was a total death by cuteness and even my super "manly" life partner fell in love with the film.

The story is just adorable and I was intrigued by the fact that it was loosely based on "The Little Mermaid".

My favourite parts were any part where Ponyo was being adorable and Fujimoto's house and ship. I also really adored the songs for the film. :) The remix during the end credits was adorable.

The cast in this movie was practically all-star. Just to name drop a few of the people who voiced for this dub: Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cloris Leechman.

I really recommend that everyone see this film. read more

Although I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. Maybe I was expecting something more "Totoro'ish" (not sure how to explain that better).

While the art and music were outstanding (even Frankie Jonas, who voiced ponyo, did a pretty good job) the story felt a little rushed, at least at the end.

I still enjoyed it, and there was more detail than The Little Mermaid (which was what Ponyo was based on).

All in all, I'm glad I got to see it on the big screen, it just gave more justice to the artwork. And the story is very sweet!!!
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The spectacle that is Ponyo is every bit as magnificent as any of Miyazaki`s works, or perhaps any animated work ever. There are memorable sequences abound, and in typical Miyazaki style, they may be notable as wildly imaginative or as heartwarmingly human. Anything in the underwater world would fall into the former category, while the affection between the two main characters is so lifelike that it may cause you to up and grab the nearest person and give him/her a nice squeeze. Ponyo is just about the sweetest thing that exists, and it`s not only because of the cute quasi-romance between the two 5 year-olds. From the borderline senile old ladies, to the tiny spat between Sosuke`s parents, to the way Ponyo`s father, the antagonist, swoons in the presence of her mother, it`s a sugar fest from top to bottom.

The extremity of the cuteness will make this film difficult for some. As someone who enjoys a nice family friendly movie, I still found it cloying at times. The other problem with Ponyo is that it is essentially an adventure like Spirited Away or Howl`s Moving Castle, but it`s filled with all the inanity of My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki`s Delivery Service. In Kiki`s Delivery Service, there isn`t a central conflict established in the beginning and resolved at the end, but in its exploration of Kiki`s problems, it feels like an insightful look at a slice of her life. In Spirited Away, you have a gratifying and epic adventure with a clear and powerful climax. Ponyo is set up like an adventure, with making Ponyo human as the primary goal, but in the journey the plot meanders to much smaller conflicts while potentially plot enriching points such as the discovery of the wizard`s plan to destroy humanity or the final test that must be passed to make Ponyo human are resolved in painfully anticlimactic fashion.

I watched the English version, localized by Disney, so I cannot comment on the original regarding music or voices since Disney is notorious for filling in the silence. The music is orchestral and epic at times, and whimsical and skippy at others, but it can get intrusive. While the epic scenes are beautifully accompanied by the soundtrack, many of the cuter, smaller scenes don`t require the bouncy and somewhat loud music to make it more saccharin that it already is. Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, and Cate Blanchette all do a notably good job with their characters. Noah Cyrus`s Ponyo captures her essence well enough, but there is something a little off about Sosuke. The little Jonas runt that voices him needs makes Sousuke sound like he`s in a rehearsal for a bad elementary school play.

Ponyo`s eccentric, borderline crazy "villain" of a father is just one aspect of many that makes this film memorable. I think from this day forward, anyone who references "Respect your father!" will get a chuckle from me. It`s just hard to forget a movie as sweet as this is, for better or worse. The beautiful visuals are the perfect medium for expressing Miyazaki`s sentimentality as well as his whimsy, but the directionless plot will leave most at least slightly unsatisfied when walking out of the theater. read more