Ponyo

[Blackboxx]

Just got back from watching Ponyo in the theater. It's another Hayao Miyazaki movie (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, ec.), and it shows. All in all, it was an enjoyable movie.

It was much tamer than some of his other movies, so it's something you can take the kids to see without worry of anything scaring them. Even during a massive typhoon/tsunami, you get to see a little girl running on water with the biggest smile on her face like she's having the time of her life. But... there is one conversation that made me chuckle to myself, somewhat embarrassed. Let's just say it was talking about "milk" to 5-year-olds. Nothing dirty, but I just thought it was funny how blunt it was.

Cute. That's how I would describe it if I could only use one word. It was extremely cute, but in a good way. It was fun to see Ponyo get used to being human, yet not pretending she wasn't a fish. Oh, and now we get to see a carnivorous goldfish with a craving for ham (BOB, stay clear of the fish, please).

The one weird thing I have to comment on is that NO ONE seems to ask questions. Hmm.... My son just told me this strange girl wandering all alone in a typhoon is the goldfish he lost earlier today... Why not? Two 5-year-olds on a large toy boat are going off on their own when the town is heading for higher ground? Wish them luck!

Like I said, it's much tamer than some other Miyazaki films. The story is very simplistic (very similar to the Little Mermaid in fact). Not much is left to be interpretted, which can be good or bad, but overall, I would recommend people see this movie if given the chance.

[Nobility]

Two 5-year-olds on a large toy boat are going off on their own when the town is heading for higher ground? Wish them luck!

Lol. That was my parent's biggest complaints as well- that and everyone was unusually cheery for having THE ENTIRE TOWN FLOODED.

Still, overall I very much enjoyed the movie. I wouldn't call it one of my favorite Miyazaki movies, but it was fun, for many of the reasons you listed. Made me wanna go swimming, though.

[Blackboxx]

Absolutely agree. It was good, but my heart belongs to Spirited Away. It was just a more inventive story, had better visuals, and more creative characters with more creative designs. But, like I said, this movie was tame. You can take the kids and not worry about them getting scared about giant wolf-gods' severed heads biting people's arms off, people turning into giant birds and coming home in the middle of the night all bloody, or a faceless blob of goo luring people with their greedy desires and then eating them when they get too close. Although... It would be nice to get an explanation of why Sasuke named her Ponyo, and she just takes it over her first given name (Brunhilda or something). I'm sure it means something in Japanese, but we don't get any indication of what in the English dub. It's like a line from a video game I have; "Let's name him Pecoros. I mean, he kinda looks like an onion".

A few spoilers here.

Another odd thing I can't seem to connect. Why did the mother have to get home so badly? She risks getting hit by a massive wave, drives erratically on slippery mountain roads, and doesn't even wait for her kid to put on his seatbelt. Does Sasuke get cranky if he doesn't have his ginseng tea and honey? Oh, it must be that she had to let her sea-bound husband know they were okay. Because clearly, letting someone know you're okay is much more important than actually trying to stay alive. Especially when said person has to worry about the disaster first-hand (a tsunami hits while he's on a boat).

And the buildup to the cataclysmic "moment" was ruined by Sasuke's test being a simple yes/no question: can you love Ponyo knowing she was once a fish? Hrmmmm.... Yes?

*DING DING DING DING DING DING*

You are correct! You win the FABULOUS prize! Earth will NOT be destroyed by a falling moon, causing an unbalanced natural order! Congratulations!

Okay. Spoilers done.

But... I still liked the movie. Maybe it was Ponyo herself. Something about her was just too cute to walk away disappointed. It's gotta be the frizzy red hair. Or the looks she makes as a fish. Those were priceless.

[Aurum]

I took my four-year-old brother because I figured, I loved Kiki's Delivery Service when I was his age, and he'd probably like how it starred a five-year-old boy and a goldfish (or mermaid? I figured, what with the thing about turning to seafoam, like The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen.). I thought it was cute. It was suprising how a film with such a slow pace kept him entertained, especially considering he's really hyper. ;)

Hmm.... My son just told me this strange girl wandering all alone in a typhoon is the goldfish he lost earlier today... Why not?

I was guessing that maybe she was just humoring them? Some parents wouldn't like to spoil the fun of a girl pretending she was a fish. I'm guessing she didn't really believe her until her parents came.

[Blackboxx]

Well.... There's humoring someone ("Uh huh. Sure. She was a fish. Okay"), then there's unquestioning belief ("Life is strange sometimes."). It never killed the movie because the mother never did anything different due to Ponyo being a fish. She treated her like a normal girl. Besides... Ponyo first appeared to them as that creepy half-fish with three toes and fingers, and spindly legs. That would be weird enough but no one notices.

Okay, now I'm getting too critical. I enjoyed the movie, so I will leave it at that. In closing:

"Have some milk!"
*eagerly presents a stack of hamless sandwiches*

Priceless.