Ponyo !

Hayao Miyazaki's done it again. I absolutely love this movie.



I've been a fan of Hayao Miyazaki's films for a long time, and my favorite would have to be "Castle in the Sky"... Until I saw this. Now I'd have to say that it's a pretty even tie. Although Ponyo was geared a little towards younger audience, it definately worked for audiences of all ages. The story of Ponyo closely resembles that of "The Little Mermaid", except with Miyazaki's style added into the mixture. Ponyo tells the story of a young fish named Brünnhilde, who is a very special little fish. Her mother was a huge elemtal spirit, who watches over the ocean. Her father is a little less understanding, and wants to keep Brünnhilde from discovering the outside world. One day, when he was busy mixing potions and creating experiments, little Brünnhilde managed to snaeak away to discover a new part of the ocean. Little to her knowledge, she was swimming in an area that fisherman drag their nets. Brünnhilde barely escapes the fisherman's net, but ends up trapped inside of a bottle. A 5-year old boy named Sosuke rescues her, and breaks the bottle with a rock. He dubbes her "Ponyo".
Ponyo knows that her father would be very upset at the fact that his daughter is out running around with humans, so she discuises herself as a young girl to throw him off her trail. Sosuke doesn't need to keep her in a bucket anymore, and they set off on their adventure together. In Sosuke's hometown, a violent storm is brewing due to Ponyo's father's rage. He unleashes magical beasts and monsters and orders them to bring his Brünnhilde back to him. The monsters search evreywhere for Ponyo, and are upset that they can't find her. They take their wrath out on the ocean, causing huge tital waves and monsoons, which means bad luck for Sosuke's father, who is a deep-sea fisherman.
Sosuke's mom leaves to drive to the retirement home, ( where she works ) but got caught in the flood, and is now stranded without passage to her son. Sosuke's father is still out, with no sign of a quick return. Ponyo and Sosuke are now alone to roam the flooded rooftops. Ponyo uses her magic to enlarge Sosuke's toy boat, and they set off to find Sosuke's mom.
Overall, it was a spectacular movie. It's hard to explain, but certain scenes in Miyazaki's films just give you a certain warmth that others don't. The stillframe posted above was taken from one of my favorite scenes in the movie. Naturally, Ponyo is a goldfish, and looks like a goldfish. ( Despite her human head ) But after she met Sosuke, she turned herself inot a human to make him happy. Sosuke saved her from the bottle, so Ponyo is forever greatful, and apparently very much in love. Her father successfully takes Ponyo back, and turns her back inot a fish. Upset, and missing Sosuke, she summons her brothers and sisters from the ocean and breaks free from his clutches. She swims towards the surface as fast as she can and literally leaps five feet out of the water. Sosuke is above, looking into the water, wondering where his Ponyo was gone. He takes a step back as she leaps from the water, she flies towards him, kisses him in mid-air, and turns back into a human before she hits the ground.

PONYO - See it.
8/10