Ponyo

Haven't seen this yet, but if it's aimed at 5 year-olds then good. About time. I heard about this movie and that's what I expected it to be, a beautiful, well-crafted story for children.

All along they've been talking about this story being compared more to My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service more than Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away.

I love Miyazaki's work because of how he is always coming out with something different. I won't see it in the theater cause of money and other movies I haven't caught up on, but even without seeing it yet, this is going on my shelf when it comes out!

I don't think it's aimed at 5-year-olds. It's like saying WALL-E or Toy Story is aimed at 8-year-old boys. The fact is, adults would enjoy these movies very much, too.

I did. Ponyo isn't Spirited Away, but it's VERY MUCH Hayoa Miyazaki and if you're a fan, you won't be disappointed. It's really cute, very sweet, and fantastical. It's loosely based on Anderson's The Little Mermaid. The protagonists are two little kids. Maybe that's why it feels like it's aimed at young kids (sure, it IS an animation for family). The animation is beautiful. Yes, its soft watercolor and children's illustration looks may be a bit different from everything else, but it's hardly "crude." It's like saying if you're an adult you can't enjoy Bambi or Pinnocchio. In a way, it's a bit insult to animation fans to say if you're above five you should watch District 9 instead. Totally different movies. As an adult (and animation fan), I thoroughly enjoyed and was very much engaged the entire time, and didn't feel like I was just watching a "movie for 5yos."

It's more like My Neighbor Totoro in tone and story than Spirited Away. Half reality and half fantasy, both focuses on family relationships and friendship from the point of view of children.

Again, if you're a fan of Miyazaki (and not just Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle) then you won't be disappointed. It's delightful.

I like some Miyazaki movies but had no interest in seeing this. I love Spirited Away, Mononoke and Nausicaä but just didn't see the same appeal here. It did, at least to me, seem like it was geared more heavily toward the little ones, which is fine, just not something I was looking forward to.

Like in Howl's Moving Castle, the whole 'a kiss will break the spell' thrown in at the end? It was incredibly predictable, totally cheesy, and I loved it. I think I'm just a Miyazaki fan, but I guess it really depends on if you like only some of his films, or all/most of them. Now I really wanna see it though silly people...taunting me with Miyazaki films.

dclary said:

Ray, my biggest problem with this film was the "test" that was supposed to be so difficult... and yet, it *really* wasn't. I honestly felt like they got to the climatic moment and someone went up to miyazaki and said "Sir, we have $8 left in the budget." "Oh, well then let's just wrap this up."

Click to expand...

You're not familiar with Asian culture and Miyazaki's work and not from an American way of looking at "climax"... I mean, even in Spirited Away, the "tests" are not earth-shattering ordeals. It's more about the spirit of things. In Ponyo, the tests are not really about saving the world, but about the purity of childhood and love. A little boy could have said, "Oh, ew, I don't want to love a fish. She's just a pet." But Sosuke and Ponyo truly love each other with their purest intention, and that's why the test is supposed to be magical in spirit.

As in many fables and fairytales, the resolution is supposed to be the simplest thing. A true love's kiss. A rose. Whatever. As this is loosely based on The Little Mermaid, it's based on something really simple: unconditional love. Ponyo loves Sosuke and Sosuke must love Ponyo back, despite the fact that if she became a human, she would lose her magic -- she would just become another normal little girl. But Sosuke accepts her as she is. It's really that simple.

I really love that kind of purity in stories, whether it's anime or adult fiction. And Miyazaki does it extremely well.

I have not seen this yet, but I expect to thoroughly love it. Miyazaki creates such beautiful films, and each one is unique. It does look more like Totoro than Mononoke, but that's fine. As someone else said, it's nice to have something very small children can enjoy for a change. They have so much nonsense in their genre, like some people think children just aren't worth the effort. When a company/author/artist really puts heart and effort into a children's story, I know I'll love it and save it for my future kids.

I just came back from viewing, and I did enjoy it. As for the ease of the test, if one looks at it from a five-year-old viewpoint, the test actually wasn't all that easy.

I loved the animation, and I'm just wondering when Miyazaki had access to my subconscious, because (without making this post a spoiler post) one of the characters was taken straight from my dreams.

Is the design of Granmammare unusual for a Miyazaki film? I don't recall seeing anything like it in any of his other films.