Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

Author edokun

Fans of Studio Ghibli’s works living in North America can rejoice. Not only is the region 2 DVD of Ponyo now available for purchase, the theatrical North American premiere is set for August 14.

Hayao Miyazaki is a master director and storyteller. Just like his past films, there is an environmental message and mythic quality to them. This time he shifts his focus to the sea and the wonders that lie underneath. The scene opens with a view of oceanic life, and an embittered wizard, Fujimoto, living in an underwater home. He is akin to the old man of the sea, a wizard. He is a supporting character that gets introduced first, and then the story shifts to land, introducing a five-year-old boy named Sousuke.

He finds an odd looking goldfish, names her Ponyo and wants to take care of her. The result? An irate Fujimoto trying to claim her back. He needs to return her to the sea in order to restore balance, and he has strong feelings toward how mankind is polluting the sea. Sometimes the story’s message wavers, like the ocean waves this narrative is set in.

The real tale is inspired from Hans Christian Andersen’s A Little Mermaid, and it is a radical departure from it. While the tale teeters back and forth from its inspirations, there is a style in this production which sets it apart from others.

Miyazaki uses a simpler approach in creating his latest film. Instead of a heavy reliance on computers to animate additional effects like those found in Spirited Away and Mononoke Hime, this movie has an artistic quality that is characteristic of his earlier works, namely My Neighbor Totoro.

Just like that earlier film, Miyazaki created a fairy tale world populated with love, wonder and romance. Ponyo’s energy and curiosity is just like Mei’s, and the oceanic mythology has a few moments reminiscent of other Ghibli films. The wondrous landscape of ocean life nearly rivals the parade of Japanese spirits from Isao Takahata’s Pon Poko. While the typhoon scene is not as kaleidoscopic as the parade’s, when music composer Joe Hisaishi’s score plays on top it, seeing Ponyo riding the water has the feel of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries.

With that kind of inspiration in the production, to see Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea theatrically will be spectacular. With a talent list like Liam Neeson (Fujimoto), Cate Blanchett (Sea Goddess) and Tiny Fey (Lisa) providing the voices, the only speculation will be in how accurate the translation will be.

While translation purists may have balked at Neil Gaiman’s westernization of concepts found in Mononoke Hime, this time there are no Shinto elements to reconceptualize. The Goddess figure is as old as time, and she promises a fate which is mythical as any tale should come to: a promise of freedom and change for the mermaid named Ponyo.

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