'Ponyo' Review - Studio Ghibli's New Feature Film
I'll admit that I haven't seen much from animation house Studio Ghibli. Apart from watching half of 'My Neighbour Totoro' and the entirety of 'Princess Mononoke' in fragments, the interest had never really taken me to watch much of what is widely said to be the Japanese version of Walt Disney Studios.
That was until the Leeds International Film Festival announced it would be screening Studio Ghibli's new feature, 'Ponyo', on its final day. Discovering it wouldn't be on general release in Britain until February of next year, I jumped at the chance to see it. I was pleasantly surprised.
The story, an adaptation of 'The Little Mermaid', is of young boy Sosuke's discovery of a magical sea creature by the name of Ponyo that wishes itself into the form of a little girl.
Reading up on the synopsis and having heard the movie itself was very child-orientated, my original fear going into the film was that it wouldn't be any fun for me. I was happy to be proven wrong - the vibrant colour scheme and the characters of Sosuke and Ponyo are very much aimed at children, but there's a lot for adults to enjoy here as well.
For one, the animation is truly something to behold and can be appreciated by people of all ages. The care, colour and originality that has gone into the frames isn't part of a child's cartoon - it's art.
Also, the idea of a broken family runs throughout the film - Sosuke lives alone with his overworked mother when Ponyo comes along and introduces some excitement into his life. It has slight echoes of 'E.T.', in which another strange creature enters the humdrum life of a young boy at the centre of a fractured family. It's a recurrent theme that adds substance to this strange fairytale.
And oh, how it is strange. From the opening scene, in which we see Ponyo's human 'father' living underwater in a giant air bubble surrounded by creatures of the sea while his living, finned submarine is docked nearby, the film is unapologetically odd. There is no real logic to what we see in the film (the sea even becomes a living, physical creature complete with eyes and mouths at moments when director Hayao Miyazaki sees fit), but there's so much charm and care in the animation that we don't question any of it.
The only real problem is the lack of any sort of story. Sosuke meets Ponyo, Ponyo uses her magic powers to turn herself into a human being in order to be closer to Sosuke and...well, that's about it. The rest of the film just sort of rambles on with no major conflict or threat presented to any of the characters (even the most child-friendly Disney flicks had elements of peril to keep things interesting). Never mind: the film looks so good and is so full of oddball imagination that it never fails to keep you gripped.
It could also be argued that the simplistic plot purposely reflects the carefree nature of the child protagonists. Miyazaki obviously put a lot of thought into his two leads, perfectly capturing the tiny nuances of child behaviour. Examples include Ponyo's fascination over the smallest things, Sosuke's grown-up act as he sails his toy boat and a schoolkid's tantrum after her dress is splashed, all of which ring completely true to life, lending a recognisable element to the otherwise fantastical story.
Despite the small niggle of the lack of plot, 'Ponyo' remains the best animation I've seen this year (that includes 'Coraline' and 'Up'). It's a visual treat for children and adults alike and I urge everyone to see it when it officially comes out next year.
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Karl Benecke - is a third year Film Journalism student at the University of Huddersfield.
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