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THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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Saw this in cinema in Hong Kong. Now I wasn't really expecting much from this since it is aimed at children but even going in with this mindset, I have to say that I was greatly disappointed.
Where it failed the most was the story it self. Who ever thought two 5 year olds striking a relationship was a great idea? If it was just a friendship bond between a boy and a gold fish that would of been fine but a relationship?
Adding to that, the attention to detail that Miyazaki has been famous for and been toned down a few notches with the use of water to hide that fact.
He's done some great children's movies before, My Neighbour Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service for example. Being a Ghibli fan I really wanted to like Ponyo, but just like Tales from the Earthsea (Gedo Senki), the story let it down :(

Ah >_< and I'm going to watch it tomorrow at the movie theatre... :S

Edit: watched it with 3 of my buddies and we all liked it. I was expecting more drama but I guess it was merrier and kinda "kiddish" since Disney was involved lol. Nevertheless, I found that movie really cute and charming.

9/10

It was ordinary story, which reminded me The Little Mermaid.

Reviewing a movie aimed for children from the perspective of an adult won't help much. Won't say that it was'nt simple thought. I found it lovely so it got a 9 from me. Did not like the way they animated water, but hey it was a magic being, so it just looked like any other being in Ghiblies word, round.^^

I adored this movie! It was a lovely little story that was straightforward, cute, happy, and energetic with very likable main characters, especially Ponyo! I guess some people might miss the drama of Ghibli/Miyazaki films, but something simply cheerful like this is wonderful once and awhile as well and today I appreciate the departure.

What might've worked better, though, would have been to spotlight the pollution problem by showing the "sea's point of view" and making Fujimoto into a bit more of a "villain" trying to protect the ocean [by destroying the humans]. His motivation and master plan were just a bit too vague and he came off so harmless that there was nothing for the main characters to overcome thus the plot comes off as being hollow.

The quality of animation and voice acting were superb though! Perhaps the colors were a bit too much like a box of crayons and everything appeared just a bit "flat," but I think the style complimented the movie so it works for me.

10/10 because I'm a 5-year-old at heart (and a huge little mermaid fan), and any kid that age would get a kick out of this movie. ;)

This movie was excellent. I loved it. :)

Too much cuteness! XD I thought it was a great movie, though I suppose it won't appeal to everybody. The animation and art is beautiful as expected from a Miyazaki film.

As expected from Hayao Miyazaki XD
I thought the story was extra cute, though at first I had my doubts lol :3
Great movie

I was somewhat excited to see a new Miyazaki film, I've had more hits then misses (the only meh film to me was Howl's Moving Castle) so we checked out Ponyo.

Although it's geared to children, so I understand it's not going to be especially deep, it still felt lacking.

I was thoroughly disturbed that the father, I don't know, abandoned humanity to sleep with the sea and make small children. O.o That was weird.

The boy's mother was just...disturbingly unaware of their personal safety.

The idea that adults would let a five year old go off on his own in the water is just a bit too much and the love story between young children is a bit much for me as well.

It seemed not to fit the characters as they were. The plot was a bit 'older' and more on the weird side then anything...

So 3/5, it was okay, not great, weird and not rewatchable.

In one word? Excellence. In another? Adorable.

That's precisely what Ponyo was, the story was fairly basic and straight forward, but made up with it's wonderful music and beautiful animation.

9/10, Miyakazi you never cease to amaze.

Miyazaki always amazes me with his films. In the age of CGI, he sticks to the old methods, and it really shows. The animation of ponyo is incredible, the creativity is top-notch. Needless to say, the characters are also adorable. Miyazaki can always twist a boring tale into an incredible adventure. Ponyo may not have the deepest of plots, but it is has that magical Miyazaki feel, and was worth every minute.

9/10

I also forgot to mention the ED is the most retardedly, mind-numbingly awesome thing I've ever listened to.

o7

PONYO~ PONYO PONYO~

I checked my age and learned cynicism at the door and had a great time. Yeah it has plot holes you can drive a truck through, but Miyazaki's films have never cared too much for plot. It's about the atmosphere; the world the characters belong to and what's important to them. That said, Ponyo is bound to be the Totoro for the new generation, a children's adventure that rewards innocence and purity of the heart.

Well, personally, I thought it was horribly patronizing and insulted the intelligence of children. Even little kids want a plot...or something exciting to happen every now and then. Totoro had the great atmosphere and feel of innocence AND dealt with issues in a realistic fashion. The children's mother is sick, and though she doesn't die, the story doesn't glaze over the fact that she might have, or that it's a big deal to the kids. Ponyo treats the possible death of the father like, "Meh, he'll be fine and dandy! Let's forget him!"

And plot holes? Oh, man! How about a huge ditch? What's Fujimoto's job exactly? Huh? Why's he hate humans? Just the pollution thing? What's the purpose of the sisters? Why's Ponyo so much older and special? What's up with the spirit of the sea? Why's she so melodramatic? What was the point of the magical well? How was Sosuke's simple "Yeah I love her!" response able to "restore the balance?" Why did the spirit of the sea think turning into sea foam was no big deal? What happened to the prehistoric fish? What's with the old woman suddenly being nice? Etc... etc...

Now, I admit most kids movies make no sense; I just recently watched a review about "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story," but even most kid's movies have more "logic" than Ponyo...or are at the least exciting. "We're Back!" has action and fun and is still entertaining, in my opinion. Most little kids aren't fans of "Ohhh! Pretty and cute" for more than about ten-fifteen minutes.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course, but from a story structure, character development, art direction (many of the backgrounds for scenes feel like flat shots, rather than parts of a whole world), Ponyo failed.

Not as good as other Ghibli movies but still very enjoyable!

Well, you're right, many children movies don't really make sense. But that doesn't mean that everything needs to be explained. Since it seemed that the main point of the movie was about Ponyo and Sousuke's relationship, I don't think it's really necessary to understand Fujimoto and the spirit of the sea. Besides whatever he works on, Fujimoto is still a father who worries about his daughter. Then there's the spirit of the sea, who seems to be an understanding mother who believes in her daughter.


Well, he said he used to be human. I would assume that he left humanity to serve the sea. He did mention something about filling the well and ridding the world of humans. Sounds a bit like terrorism, but whatever. I can't remember what he was talking about.


Well, baby fish come in bulk. So of course there would be many. It seems that Ponyo was the one granted magic, however.


I would just consider her intrigued. lol


If Sousuke truly wanted Ponyo to stay with him, then Ponyo would become completely human. Thus, the world wouldn't be so out of balance, as Fujimoto was fretting over in the beginning. I believe that the spirit of the sea strongly believed that things would work out between Ponyo and Sousuke. She didn't seem at all worried throughout the movie.


I hardly think it matters.


I don't think she ever hated anyone. She just puts up a rough exterior. She chose to stay away from Fujimoto because she didn't trust him. However, she knows Sousuke, so naturally, she would want to protect him from Fujimoto. I don't see any reason to revert back to being a loner in the end with everyone being so happy.

I will say, though, that Ponyo did feel to be lacking. The older movies like Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro felt much more endearing.

First Miyazaki film I've ever seen in the theatre. It was a sweet little film. I agree about some of the questions raised about certain points of it making sense, but animation wise it was spot on and the story had its sweet moments. Not my new favourite Miyazaki film or anything, but it was worth seeing it up on the big screen, you definitely get something more out of it.

See, that's all assumption though. And you're not even sure what the purpose of him was. If Fujimoto wasn't even that important, why bother drawing attention to him? When a story places emphasis on a character and then forces the watchers to make conjecture about the whole of his character, that's laziness on the storyteller's part.



Again, how does Ponyo being human avert disaster? How was that last scene even a "test," as the sea goddess so dubbed it?



Again, here's another point in which the audience just has to assume things about a character's nature. So she doesn't trust him? Why? Where's the build-up? Maybe showing us the scene in which the other old ladies leave could have helped develop this more. Also, so everyone else is happy, she should be too? Hmm, seems a bit weak to me. If they had showed her doing more grudgingly endearing things earlier on to show that she secretly cared, I might buy it. Also, showing some hesitation on her part to be happy like everyone else at the end would have been better as well. Having one of the other old ladies start a game of tag by tagging her first or something like that.

I'm not trying to grill you. Just playing a bit of the devil's advocate, I suppose. ^_~

Gotta say, watched a bit of the Japanese version, saw the English one tonight, I actually prefer the Disney dub on this one. Great movie.