Ponyo

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Produced by: Toshio Suzuki
Written by: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Tomoko Yamaguchi, Kazushige Nagashima, Yuki Amami, George Tokoro, Yuria Nara, Hiroki Doi, Rumi Hiiragi, Akiko Yano, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Tomoko Naraoka
Based on: The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
Music by: Joe Hisaishi
Released: July 19, 2008

Plot: Fujimoto, a once-human wizard, lives underwater with his daughter Brunhilde and her numerous smaller sisters. While she and her siblings are on an outing with their father in his four-flippered submarine, Brunhilde sneaks off and floats away on the back of a jellyfish. After an encounter with a fishing trawler, she becomes trapped in a glass jar and drifts to the shore of a small fishing town where she is rescued by five-year-old boy Sosuke. While shattering the jar with a rock, Sosuke cuts his finger. Brunhilde licks his blood, healing the wound almost instantly. Sosuke names her Ponyo and promises to protect her. Meanwhile, a distraught Fujimoto searches frantically for his lost daughter whom he believes to have been kidnapped. He calls his wave spirits to recover her, leaving Sosuke heartbroken and confused by what happened.

Ponyo refuses to let her father call her by her birth name, declaring her desire to be a human named Ponyo. With magic, she forces herself to grow leg- and arm-like appendages and start changing into a human, a power granted to her by Sosuke's human blood that she licked. Fujimoto forces her to change back into her true form and leaves to summon Ponyo's mother, Gran Mamare. Meanwhile, Ponyo, with the help of her sisters, breaks away from her father and inadvertently uses his magic to make herself human. The huge amount of magic that she releases into the ocean causes an imbalance in nature, resulting in a tsunami. Ponyo goes back to Sosuke, who is amazed and overjoyed to see her. His mother, Lisa, allows her to stay at their house. Lisa leaves after the tsunami subsides to check up on the residents of the nursing home where she works, promising Sosuke that she will return home as soon as possible.

The next day, Sosuke and Ponyo find that most of the land around the house has been covered by the ocean. Since it is impossible for Lisa to come home, the two decide to find her. With Ponyo's magic, they make Sosuke's pop pop boat bigger to traverse the waters, seeing marine life from the Late Devonian period and more people on boats. When they reach the forest, however, Ponyo tires and falls asleep, and the boat slowly reverts back to its original size. Sosuke drags Ponyo to the shore, where he finds Lisa's abandoned car. As they continue walking, Ponyo mysteriously reverts to her fish form. Meanwhile, Lisa and the residents of the nursing home are temporarily able to breathe water because of Gran Mamare. Ponyo and Sosuke encounter Fujimoto, who warns the boy on the imbalance of nature, begs him to give him back Ponyo. Despite their attempt to flee, they are captured and Fujimoto takes them down to the protected nursing home.

Review: Master Hayao Miyazaki tells a wonderful story for the whole family. Filled with strong positive characters and fanciful story twists. The story centres on a journey of self deicsovery. The story deals with the friendship between afive year old boy Sosuki and a goldfish who dreams of being human. She is the daughter of the King of the Ocean. So essentially she is no ordiinary goldfish. She gains the name Ponyo when the boy saves her and than gives her the name. It's through the friendship between the two that Ponyo works hard on fulfilling her dream of becoming completely human.

Ponyo uses some of her natural magic to change herself into a 5 year old girl and shows up at the front door of her new found friend Sosuki. Finding comfort and acceptance in to the family. While Ponyo looks like she has found a place to call home, things begin the go topsy turvey in the rest of the world. A fish walking around on dry land ends up causing an embalance in the world. It will take help from the greatest powers in the ocean to return things to their proper balance once again.

This is a joy to watch and one I'm sure you will enjoy with all the kids in your home. Both big and small.

M J Flack