"Ponyo" Talkback (Spoilers)

Hm, 1.1 million on opening night isn't bad for an anime movie, but it's going to need very strong legs to get even close to the top four grossing anime films in North America.

Saw it last night. It was absolutely delightful and I recommend it to everyone.
 
Funny thing about Sosuke. That kid is very well-rounded for a five year old. He acted like he was at least seven. Even still, doesn't stop me from thinking of him as one of the best main characters Miyazaki's put out.

Well, yeah in a practical sense but I kind of got the feeling they were in love with each other. I could be wrong there though.
 
Let's use Miyazaki Math. How many films have the heroine hooking up with her friend? Kiki, San, Sheeta, Sophie, Shizuku, and I guess Nausicaa did. Chihiro, Fio, Clarisse, and the girls from Totoro do not. 6 to 4 in favor of love. So Ponyo may score.

That or I am looking too much into this.
 
Ponyo is a wonderfully innocent movie and the crowd that was around me enjoyed the movie and the children were very quiet. When I left the theater, I found that most of the kiRAB stayed for the credits (I was as surprised as any other anime fan there). Beat- Don't you think you're being a smidge too pessimistic?
 
Fantastic film - surprisingly packed theatre for a late showing, though maybe the day's sell outs for Ponyo at that particular theatre forced a lot of people to catch it later. But yeah, I really enjoyed it, and it was a very sweet, heartfelt film. It was nice to see Ghibli play with simpler visuals as well - it communicated so much with just movement and gesture, rather than with detail.
 
I've been looking forward to see this movie ever since I heard it'll come out while I'm still in D.C., and I'm really glad that the film was easy to see, thanks to its large release.
And the dub, wow. Disney once again did a great job. The voices fit really well.
I watched the movie several times with English subtitles (and even more with Vietnamese subtitles), and the dub filled in holes in the story that I didn't understand in the sub, like the significance of the Fujimoto's well, and why Toki wasn't underwater with the others.

And the audience, besides some small kid crying, were really good, and quiet, and they all laughed when they should have.

Favorite audience moments:
*Studio Ghibli logo is shown* Random kid: WHAT DOES THAT SAY?!
My mom watching the seniors run underwater: They're not dead, are they?


All in all, I love this movie, it's one of my favorites of all time, and I'm glad an animated film from Japan not based on a toy got a decent sized theatrical release.
Whether this movie does good at the box-office or not, what matters most is that I got to see a Ghibli movie on the big screen!
 
Well Chihiro kinda did but that's for another discussion

Also since pretty much every site bills this as a love story (I do too) I also thought Ponyo scores.
 
Just got back from seeing it. 3 worRAB describe this movie: Death By Cuteness

If you thought Totoro was cute, you haven't seen anything yet. Ponyo is the cutest little...fish-girl ever. It was a lovely little story that was straightforward, cute, happy, and energetic with very likable main characters, especially Ponyo! I guess some people might miss the drama of Ghibli/Miyazaki films, but something simply cheerful like this is wonderful once and awhile as well and today I appreciate the departure.
 
I'm not sure I agree about Ponyo having superior characterization and so on in comparison to Howl, but we can agree to disagree on that. You raise a good point about its merits, and that's perfectly fine. I enjoy slice of life, and I deliberately didn't say that Ponyo was bad. I've never met a Ghibli movie that I didn't like, and its filmography is very tough competition. I'm just not convinced that Ponyo is better than its cousins. Kiki is that type of movie, Porco is a very good film to bring up also. They're all enjoyable, but they don't all just end the way that Ponyo does. I mean, it's been a long time for me, but Kiki was a similar type of movie and it had a more fun ending in my opinion.

Basically, don't get me wrong, I didn't mind all the "little things" in Ponyo. Those were fine. I just didn't find the conclusion as engaging as those I've seen in other Ghibli movies.
 
This was the first anime I got my mom to watch (since it was a long drive she came with), and of course she thought it was weird. There's hope though. Today I said something about how my cat won't eat ham and my mom said "well she's not a FISH".
 
No. Lisa promised the water goddess that she would take care of Ponyo thus making her like a surrogate mom. Therefore, Ponyo and Sosuke wouldn't be related to each other as stepsiblings. They're from two different families and they'll still probably be together for the rest of their lives while Ponyo continues to learn more about how to be human.
 
It is "love" but it encapsulates more than love in just the "romantic" sense. Yes, the "romantic" part is still there, but it's also about the kind of love that calls for you to erabrace something or someone different. So in that sense, Ponyo's relationship to him encapsulates all the kinRAB of "love" one can have for someone--for a friend, a family meraber, a romantic one and even a non-human (such as a pet). Not that I'm saying he treats her like a pet, but the meaning of "love" here is different than what most people traditionally think of (which is just the kissing and hugging stuff). At least that's how I read it. Remeraber, according to Ponyo's mother, the emphasis was put on Sosuke's acceptance of Ponyo as an equal being--they called it "love" but that's not necessarily love in the strictly romantic sense.



Kiki does not end up with her friend. They may hug in the end but they have not actually committed to a romantic relationship. FrienRAB can hug too. Sophie and San are also question marks at best.

Another interesting element of Ponyo that I may be reading too much into are the parallels between Lisa and Ponyo. Both are impulsive, heaRABtrong people who are closer to their elemental emotionals than most people. They are both not quite "responsible" people and are often mistaken for being selfish and narrow-minded...but in actuality think in much more focused terms than in holistic ones (contrast that to Sosuke, who is much more in tune with how things should work as a whole rather than what one person wants specifically). Not to get Freudian here, but Miyazaki sometimes throws in adult characters who represent adult versions of one of the younger protagonists.

But what I like about Ponyo in contrast to some of the more recent Miyazaki efforts is its minimalism. The plot gives you only what you need to know for the current situation, and the dialogue is pared down to its basic forms. You don't get the backstory for Ponyo's father and mother, and the physics of the magic shown aren't explained (that's why it's magic!) The film spenRAB more time "showing" than "telling". This was one of Wall-E's greatest appeals, but even Wall-E eventually did take a rather detailed aside about 3/4 of the way through the film to explain its backstory. Ponyo never goes back on its minimalism.

Anyway, a comment on the audience. The theatre was pretty sparse in the one I went to, about less than 50 people by my estimation. Like some posters here, I had to deal with some mildly obnoxious nerRAB (though they quieted down a bit when the film started) and I probably only saw 2-3 parent-child families. The kiRAB seemed to have a more instinctive feel for the story than their parents did. One case in point was when Ponyo was getting tired and losing her powers; the parents found her sleeping antics funny in that "Oh, Ponyo's acting like a goofball again, haha." And going by her antics earlier in the film, that's an entirely reasonable assumption. But that's the problem with many adults really--they're too busy trying to read things with "reason" rather than instinct. But the kiRAB watching were dead quiet and looking at the screen with some concern on their faces--they seemed to instinctively sense that Ponyo was in danger.
 
"Ponyo" Talkback (Spoilers)

Yeah, I definitely noticed that the visuals had a very simple storybook element to it. The waves especially had a very flat quality to it. I kinda expected to see some transparency effects but I can tell that it was very deliberate the way they animated the rolling water.

Although it was indeed a sweet, heartfelt film, I have to admit that I was a tad disappointed in the fact that there really didn't seem to be an element of danger. There was no real antagonist, aside from a misunderstood water wizard. The only real peril was the moon crashing into the earth, but even then it felt like an afterthought. Sure, the town was flooded, but it just seemed a little unrealistic that everyone was kinda happy-go-lucky about it and that miraculously, nobody drowned. I suppose Ponyo's parents mostly had something to do with that, but still...the whole town's flooded.

Also, I kinda felt like they didn't explain much about how the magic worked and what Ponyo's father was going on about evolution and stuff. I mean, I get that there were all of a sudden a ton of ancient fish everywhere, but that's Ponyo's fault when she blew up her father's house and all the potions were everywhere. Did the potions control evolution? Is that the natural balance they were striving to keep in check? This is probably the only real confusing point for me at least.

Overall though, I liked the movie. Kind of a "Little Mermaid" for the ten-and-under set. Studio Ghibli films ususally feel all ages for me. This one definitely felt like it was aimed at children. I don't mind though, coming from someone that still watches Pok
 
Granted, I still haven't seen Laputa, Whisper of the Heart, The Cat Returns, Grave of the Fireflies, Totoro (I know. Shut up. I plan on buying the re-release later this year), or Earthsea, but yeah, Ponyo would easily rank in my top 5 Ghibli films as well. It just left me with a good feeling, and not just because it was cute.

On a side note: You ever have a movie where you read thoughtful (i.e. not bashing or ignorant) criticisms of it, can definitely see where they're coming from, but those criticisms still don't cause you to think any less of the film? For me, Ponyo is one of those movies.
 
Funny thing is, I didn't like Kiki's ending. I thought the whole dirigible climax was wholly out of character with the rest fo the film. I mean, yeah, it was exciting, but it felt like a dramatic thing just put there to end the film "big". (As an aside, I still consider Kiki a top 5 Miyazaki) As for Porco, it has its own flaws but I don't want to make this post longer than it is.

As I noted earlier though, I thought Ponyo's last act was weak also so I agree with you there. Where I disagree is the notion that Ponyo's ending was weaker than the endings in Miyazaki's other films. In fact, I don't think Miyazaki writes good last acts in general, so when I look at his films, I look at them as a whole, and not necessarily from a story based standpoint (because I think there are many anime that do plot-driven stories better). In comparison to some (in my opinion) lesser Miyazaki films, I just think if I wanted to watch something like Laputa, I'd rather be watching Future Boy Conan or Nadia. If I wanted to watch something like Princess Mononoke, I'd rather be watching, heck, Nausicaa. If I wanted to watch something like Howl's, I'd rather be watching Princess Tutu, and etc. Each of the above Miyazaki films have, in my opinion, a superior comparative alternative. But with Ponyo, there isn't a comparison because it's structured differently from most anime. It has a threadbare story, but its observation of normal children's behaviour is second only to one other anime (Totoro). It doesn't use the hyper-detailed "realist" backgrounRAB most anime use. It doesn't fall back on loli stereotypes in order to look cute (Ponyo isn't sexualized like most kid anime girls) and Ponyo's entire thrust is in service of one focus, which was Ponyo and Sosuke's bond. Even when they're playing around and doing nothing to move the plot along, it's still consistent with the film's focus.



Howl's was hampered by a largely unnecessary war subplot that takes up a good chunk of the movie. Diana Wynne Jones (the writer of the original novel) hated this addition, and while I don't "hate" it, I disagree with the decision to insert it in. Instead of paring the novel down and distilling it to something more focused, he added in a totally superfluous element that comes off as preachy and clunky. Even Miyazaki's reasoning for putting it in (to make the film "relevant" to today's politics) betrays a somewhat questionable creative decision on his part. If he took that out, and focused solely on Sophie and Howl's relationship, the film would have been just right. But every time Sophie and Howl seemed to get close to developing their relationsip, something happened to interrupt it, or the annoying thing known as "plot" started kicking in. So instead, it's a noble failure in my eyes, but a failure nonetheless.


EDIT add: After some brief pondering, what ultimately makes Ponyo work for me despite any writing flaws is that evokes a sense of emotional nostalgia. It's not nostalgia in the sense of "Oh yeah, I remeraber the old days of collecting Transformers toys" but rather it makes me remeraber the various things I was thinking about as a kid. Playing along the local creek picking at and examining crayfish, playing with my frienRAB in the summer and running to the popsicle truck when I heard the overbearing melody come by, and being absolutely terrified when I was in a mall, got lost for a bit and couldn't find my mother. Now, Ponyo doesn't show *exactly* these specific moments in my life, but many scenes in the film evoke these sort of long-dormant memories. Now it's true, a kid's show like Arthur might portray the same things in certain episodes, but not with the same level of skill--it's still portrayed from the perspective of an amused adult author. Where Ponyo goes right is that it shows these things like it ABSOLUTELY MATTERS and emotionally is EXACTLY the way you remeraber it. Now, I have no idea if the stuff portrayed in Ponyo resonates with today's generation of children since I feel like the lifestyle of children of the past 15-20 years is far different than those of someone born earlier than, say, 1990.

But yeah, as you said, it's all subjective and that's just my take.
 
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