PONYO

Why all this effort for a cute love story about a goldfish and a young boy?

95/100

Original Release: 2008

Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki

Cast: Yuuri Nara, Hiroki Doi, Tomoko Yamaguchi

Favourite Quote:

“But if his love isn't pure, she'll turn into sea foam."

 "That is where we all originate, my darling."

Favourite Shot:

There are so many things that I could write about Hayao Miyazaki’s tenth feature film Ponyo.

That it’s possibly the best looking film of all time. That it has one of the most thrilling and magical scores your ears have ever been blessed with. That it is one of the most detailed and fascinatingly rich pieces of cinema that has ever existed. 

But the thing I think is the most interesting thing about Ponyo is: why all this talent and effort and work spent on a simple story about a boy and a goldfish falling in love? Aren't there better stories to dedicate all that effort toward? Stories with complicated plots or complex themes?

Or is it possible that it is through this simplicity that Miyazaki can let all of these elements shine just as they should, creating some of the most transcendent moments of his career?

Ponyo begins when a young boy, Sosuke (Hiroki Doi), stumbles upon a small goldfish, named Ponyo (Yuuri Nara), stuck inside a bottle. He helps her out (cutting himself in the process), she heals his wound (by licking it) and they become best friends.

These are all just simple but intimate details that immerse you in a moment of the film, as well as a moment from your memories so that you are simultaneously experiencing them at the same time. It is special filmmaking.

In a Romeo and Juliet type relationship - her wizard father doesn’t approve and he takes her back home forbidding her from interacting with humans. And of course this makes her more eager to go and interact with humans. 

So eager in fact that she becomes one and causes a serious imbalance in nature in the process. As a result of this imbalance a huge tsunami hits the small town where Sosuke lives. 

During the tsunami Sousuke’s mother Lisa (Tomoko Yamaguchi) speeds through the town, swerving, trying to get to her home at the top of a cliff. While Ponyo sprints atop this huge wave trying to find her way back to Sosuke.

In a great collision of sound, colour and movement, Ponyo finally reunites with Sosuke. But it is the intricate details involved in the sequence which elevate it to something greater. 

First, Lisa runs to Ponyo to save her and Ponyo runs right through her legs, to Lisa’s bewilderment. Then when Sosuke sees Ponyo in her human form he stares at her for a moment as if unable to comprehend what has happened. 

The camera cuts to Ponyo’s face which is afraid in the most subtle way. She is scared he won't recognise her. Then we cut back to see the flicker of recognition on Sosuke’s face and the two hug and are reunited again.

The intimate details of Sosuke’s face convey so much. It is such a simple scene, but due to the careful nuances of the animation we are able to connect so deeply. This is an illustration of the movie as a whole.

That night they both share some hot milk with honey in it and some tasty ramen and fall asleep on the couch. It is a sequence that resonates powerfully with childhood. That night when you get home from being away for a while. Nothing is better.

The steam rising from the hot drink. The fluffy towel. The sound of the spoon mixing in the honey. The bubbling of the ramen soup. The slurping of the noodles. Falling asleep not in your bed, and an adult tucking you in.

These are all just simple but intimate details that immerse you in a moment of the film, as well as a moment from your memories so that you are simultaneously experiencing them at the same time. It is special filmmaking.

Meanwhile Sosuke’s father is out on his boat, which has broken down, and he sees what looks like a city with bright lights and mountains behind it. But there has never been a city there before. And then he sees that the moon has fallen out of its orbit and that it is very close to the Earth. 

He realises that it is not a city but hundreds of boats trying to get over the tsunami. At that moment a huge sea angel of luminous light floats under the boat and resurrects it as the score triumphantly swells. It is a magical, euphoric moment.

From there the town is completely underwater. There are shots of beautiful and detailed sea creatures floating along roads that were once driven on. And we are reminded that there is a whole other world below us with its own rules just occurring everyday with total disregard for our lives. 

Ponyo then enlarges Sosuke’s toy boat and they drive it around the underwater town. Ponyo has a touching moment with a baby. Sosuke has that moment of panic which is so universal when he can’t find his mother and realises he is alone.

And then the ending of the film is largely set inside a dome which Ponyo’s wizard dad has created to allow the humans inside to breathe underwater. That sentence alone should inspire you to seek the film out.

Miyazaki’s Ponyo is a film with otherworldly technicolour visuals, music which plucks at your emotion strings, and immensely detailed worlds and characters. And through the simpleness of the story, these elements are able to harmonise with each other to create a transcendent masterpiece.