Why Ponyo is better than Pixar

From reading my last post, it’s clear that I’m not thrilled with Disney right now. I’m sick of their endless, mindless marketing and their many-times-told sequels.

Then I sat down and finally watched “Ponyo”.

“Ponyo” is the latest film from Miyazaki, (or Mr. Miyazaki, as my godson used to call him) the Japanese genius who made such great films as “Spirited Away” and “My Neighbor Tortoro”. As with all Miyazaki films, there is an English dubbed version of this film that contains a host of celebrity voices. This time it’s Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Tina Fey and Liam Niesson, just to name a few.

“Ponyo” is similar to Disney’s breakout hit “The Little Mermaid” in that it tells the story of a female creature (a goldfish) who wants desperately to become human in order to be with her love. But this isn’t really a “true love, happily ever after" thing, it’s more of a being accepted and loved thing.

Young (and not too bright) Souske finds a goldfish one morning on death’s door. He rescues her and names her Ponyo. Souske is raised mostly by his mom Lisa, because his father is a longshoreman and is often away at sea. He goes to school next to the senior center where his mother works.

Ponyo lives under the ocean. Her dad is controlling and threatened by her magical gifts. He wants to keep her in a bubble (literally). When he finds out her plans to become human, he sends all his cohorts to take her back – leaving mindless destruction in his wake.

One of the greatest things about Miyazaki films is that he makes you completely go with the story – no matter how ludicrous it actually is in reality. Just like “Spirited Away”, there are an abundance of cute little creatures coming in and out. But there are just as many ominous ones to balance it out.

The entire opening non-dialogue shot of Ponyo riding jellyfishes to the surface is just magical – and rare in today’s climate.

This is the film I wish “Up” could have been. I’m getting quite tired of Pixar, with their marketing ploys and stupid songs. The stories are repetitive and the creatures are supposed to be realistic but look too and act far too bubbly for my taste. With Japanese animation, it’s not drawn as well, but it is certainly more colorful. That’s a great help when you’re trying to portray the depths of the ocean.

It’s a very charming film, and it’s a crying shame that in all the overextended “Up” hype this film seems to have gotten lost. It did have a theatrical run last summer, and most people (including myself) didn’t make it out there.

But once again I am reminded of Miyazaki’s genius. I’ll be sorry when he stops making films. I guess, since Disney does have the rights to all Studio Ghibli films now, I actually owe Disney for this one. But that still doesn’t make up for everything else, especially Pixar.

"Ponyo" - 101 minutes (****)