WRITTEN BY: ERIN
Hayao Miyazaki's newest film, Ponyo is set to be released nationwide in the United States to over 800 theatres on August 14, 2009. After an advanced screening, I'm sure the enchantment and magic Miyazaki brings children will be alive at the screenings, but I feel some adult fans may be disappointed.
The film's dubbing is spectacular, especially acting by Liam Neeson as Fujimoto, Ponyo's father and Tina Fey as Lisa, the mother of Sosuke. The art is also breathtaking, so vivid in its use of colors and array of animals, this alone is worth the ticket price.
The story is about a goldfish named Ponyo who is rescued by a little boy named Sosuke. Ponyo wishes to become human afterwards and she defies her father by using magic to turn into a girl and go to the human world. The movie has a coherent and steady plot, all up until the last half hour, where the emotional turmoil seen in Fujimoto's character, his hate of humans for destroying the ocean, his desire to bring his daughter back to the ocean, all of this climatic material dies away at the final conclusion of the movie, leaving for an empty feeling in adult viewers who were used to growing up with the strong and powerful messages seen in Miyazaki's other films. Ponyo is certainly not one of Miyazaki's strongest pieces, but children and families will enjoy its innocent, happy, fairytale story and it is certainly a movie to watch if you want to be uplifted.
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