Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea) (2008)

Wow Miyazaki really has his finger on the pulse of "things that are incredibly cute". I mean seriously, just look at this. I feel like the Fuck You, Penguin guy needs to give him a stern talking-to. With Ponyo, he gives us his version of "The Little Mermaid". The titular character is a young, magical goldfish princess with a warlock father and sea goddess mother, and she desperately wants to escape her father's over-protective grasp. She breaks out of her bubble home and makes it through dangerous water pollution to land, rescued by Sosuke, an eager young boy who delicately takes care of her. Soon enough she's unwillingly taken back by her father, but her desire to become human like Sosuke and be with him gives her enough drive and power to become a Transformer and turn into a real little girl.

She and Sosuke are happily reunited, with his mother Lisa half-accepting the idea that a goldfish could have magic powers and allowing her to stay with them while a massive storm floods the area. Lisa leaves them to help out at the senior center where she works, but the sea rises so high, a large portion of the town is underwater the next day. Sosuke and Ponyo set out in a small boat to find her, while Ponyo's mom and dad search for her with the fear that she'll upset nature's balance if she remains simultaneously human and magical.

Like My Neighbor Totoro before it, Ponyo is of course adorable and easy to watch, with a nice combination of fantasy elements and real human emotion. It's visually beautiful in its watercolor and pastel style and effortless animation. The underwater scenes are so detailed and flowing, while the on-land settings feel like paintings. The main characters are very funny and engaging in their typical child enthusiasm and general excitement over everything. I didn't watch the dubbed version since I don't want anyone with "Cyrus" or "Jonas" as a last name mucking up my anime viewing, so no comment on Disney voicework. The Japanese cast is pretty great, though.

I was a bit bothered by the weird and copious ambiguities in the story; Ponyo's dad was maybe evil? Once he was human but for some reason now he just hangs out underwater and controls the ocean? He and her mom are split up but we don't why? The balance of nature is being overturned because Ponyo did a thing? Ponyo's dad wants to take over the world with mysteriously glowing ocean fluid but then he's wicked upset when Ponyo makes that crazy storm happen that brings the town underwater? I was asking a lot more questions than I was getting answers, and for a movie aimed at (and about) young children, I was surprised.

In general Ponyo is enjoyable and sweet, and a true delight to just look at. It's simpler and less affecting than most other Miyazaki films I've seen, so I didn't I like it as much as, say, Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke. It's the kind of movie that's pleasant and fun, but not incredibly memorable or groundbreaking (in its story, I mean- of course in animation it's top-notch). Considering its audience, this isn't astounding, but considering its filmmaker it's ever so slightly disappointing.

4/5

Cutest theme song ever (the original version, but I know Disney skewered it with a Noah Cyrus/Frankie Jonas version)