Ponyo Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter, Brad Lewis Cast: Noah Cyrus, Tina Fey, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett Running Time: 1 hr 25 mins Rating: G Release Date: August 14, 2009

Plot: A goldfish princess sneaks out of her underwater home and ends up in the hands of a 5-yea- old boy named Sosuke. She develops an innocent love for the boy and decides to become a little human girl.

Who’s It For? Families, particularly with younger kids.

Expectations: Whenever Miyazaki releases anything new, I rush out and see it with the hope that it will measure up to Spirited Away. In other words, my expectations for all of his films are unreasonably high.

SCORECARD (0-10)

Actors:

Noah Cyrus as Ponyo: “Why,” I pondered, “Does Ponyo’s voice make me want to throw myself off a balcony?” Well, it’s because she’s voiced by a Cyrus—and while there’s something sort of interesting about Miley’s scratchy growl, Noah is a shrill, loud little girl and it’s a bit like stabbing a chalkboard with a fork. Still, the kids won’t notice and she does throw her all into it, even if I spent the whole time wishing she’d just stop with all the shrieking already. Score: 4

Tina Fey as Risa: Risa is a very interesting character. She’s fiery and irresponsible and temperamental without being mean about it. For a while, I mistook her for Sosuke’s big sister, because she was so un-motherly. Still, she’s strong and funny and there’s something very real about her as the loving, albeit hotheaded, mom. You don’t usually see animated moms like that. Score: 8

Liam Neeson as Fujimoto: Fujimoto is the hardest character to place within the context of the story. He seems to be an underwater wizard in charge of keeping the world in balance, but that’s never really explained. Maybe it makes more sense to a Japanese audience with their folklore, but to an American audience its mostly bewildering. So, I just saw him as some eccentric, underwater wizard, and I loved him in that vein. Neeson has the perfect voice for animation: it’s recognizable, low, and melodious. Here he strips away any self-consciousness and really dives in. Score: 9

Matt Damon as the absent father: “Hey, that’s Matt Damon! Cool! I love him!” will likely be your reaction. He’s in the movie for, maybe, five accumulative minutes. He does a good job whenever he gets the chance, but the role just isn’t big enough for him. Score: 7

Cate Blanchett as the Goddess of Mercy: Don’t misunderstand me: I adore Cate Blanchett. I think she’s wonderful and ethereal and beautiful and perfect in every way, shape, or form. But I’m a little tired of her breathy voice-overs. It was ideal in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and now I need to see her do something else. Score: 6

Talking: Strangely, Ponyo is a bit weak when it comes to the dialogue, and we can’t just blame that on something being lost in translation: the dialogue in Spirited Away and Paprika was plenty strong. My theory is that this is Miyazaki’s first movie that feels like it was made solely for children and therefore the importance is placed on basic plotline and visuals. Score: 6

Sights: Like every other Miyazaki story, this movie is a dear, gorgeous little gem. The animation is beautiful in its back-to-basics simplicity and the creativity has a whole other life of its own. What is most impressive is the expertly expressed body language of the characters, such as the little boy kicking off his shoes and venturing into the ocean—it’s exactly how a child would move. Brilliant and wonderful. This will be the main enjoyment for anyone over ten. Score: 10

Sounds: The score was distracting. Oftentimes, it would come barging into a scene in order to elicit an emotional reaction, which is best served through character development and dialogue. It wasn’t terrible, but there were times that I wanted it to go away … and I bought the soundtrack to Paprika. Score: 6

PLOT SPOILERS

Best Scene: My favorite scene is when Sosuke and Ponyo are reunited after a brief period of separation. My second favorite part is when we first meet Ponyo: she peeks her dear, little face out of Fujimoto’s submarine and swims out in what looks like red pajamas and everyone in the theater fell in love in unison. This was, obviously, before she started speaking.

Ending: Abrupt and hurried. There is a lot of talk about Sosuke needing to pass some big, important test, which never seems to actually materialize and then the whole thing is over.

Questions: Why are we dumping more money into the hungry Cyrus monster? Fight the monster, people!

Rewatchability: I would willingly rent Ponyo, but I wouldn’t pay to see it again—though, I’m not its target demographic and I do hope it does well in this country.

OVERALL

Ponyo is a gorgeous fable for kids. It isn’t scary like Paprika, which still gives me nightmares despite my fondness for it (“Evil, rotting dolls from hell, be gone!”) but at the same time, it’s not as quickly paced. And—I’m sure this doesn’t need to be said—the plot isn’t nearly as compelling as Spirited Away. Ponyo is slow and sweet and without a nasty bone anywhere in its body, and there is something to be said for that. It’s rare, these days, I know.

It’s a great film for a younger audience. I previewed the film with a large number of little kids and they were all delighted—and adorably vocal. “She’s just sleeping,” the little girl announced to the whole theater when Sosuke was worried if Ponyo had died (she hadn’t; she was actually just sleeping). And while I wouldn’t sit through it again for my own enjoyment, I would definitely enjoy seeing it with my future children. I have to just let go of my yearning for another Spirited Away and accept any new Miyazaki film on its own, wildly creative terms.

Final Score: 7/10