| PONYO ON THE CLIFF BY THE SEA |
| Written by Sian Rafferty |
| Wednesday, 15 July 2009 21:07 |
 Sometimes in this hard and confusing world, I can't help but think that the only ones who get it right; are kids under five. That magical age, when environmental degradation is finding crushed bird eggs on your back lawn... and economic recession means not having enough money to get a crunchie bar AND a lollipop at the dairy... and the only war you have to fight in; is the one against the monsters under the bed. I can't help but think that Master of Japanese animation; Hayao Miyazaki, must have had the same idea when writing the story of 'PONYO'. 'PONYO' is at its heart, a reinterpretation of the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale; 'The Little Mermaid'. It is essentially the same story, albeit moved to the twenty-first century and set in maritime Japan. The story follows Sosuke, a little Japanese boy who finds Ponyo, a little fish girl. Ponyo immediately falls in love with not only the boy, but also the world above in which he lives. Ponyo and Sosuke proceed to live in a bubble of innocence and simple happiness, totally oblivious to the disastrous consequences of their unnatural friendship.  It is a simple enough story to follow; yet the whole narrative is presented in a chaotic, hyperactive way. Imagine a five year old child telling you a story: "Well we ate ham and then I played in the sand-pit and then I lost my shoe and then Mummy came in a pink car..." and so on. Yet this way of storytelling, gives the movie a certain charm. For a couple of hours, you really do feel like giving yourself over to the inner-child and letting the weight of the world slip off your shoulders. Miyazaki has gone out of his way to create a simple love story, without needing any deeper interpretations overshadowing the children's play. Yes; if you try really hard you can see vague jabs at human beings treatment of the sea, but this isn't pushed in your face. 'Ponyo' is really just, story-telling at its best. A place where nothing else matters, except the triumph of love and family.  The real drawcard of the movie, is the amazing animation. Studio Ghibli are world-renowned for creating mind-bogglingly touchable, rainbow-flavoured worlds, which make you want to jump out of your seat and into the screen. 'Ponyo' lives up to the expectations, set by movies like 'Spirited Away' and 'Howl's Moving Castle'. The real scene-stealer, would have to be the ocean itself. Miyazaki has managed to create a fluid, twisting and totally animate body of water which deserves recognition as a character in its own right. Miyazaki also reportedly included 170,000 separate images in the film, the most he has ever used. You may have heard the term "visual feast" applied to other films... and yet here, for the first time in my life; I could actually feel my eyes salivating at all the colour and movement.  Apart from the smorgasbord for your eyes, the designers at Studio Ghibli have also completely mastered the natural movement of people and objects in everyday life. The way the leaves move in the wind, or how Sosuke twitches even when trying to stand still, are examples of meticulous attention to detail... and its these little things which seem so natural, but really make the movie. Like all good things, Hollywood has already signed up for an English version of 'Ponyo'. Miley Cyrus's younger sister Noah Cyrus, will voice Ponyo and youngest Jonas Brother; Frankie Jonas, is the voice of Sosuke. Whether or not this is necessary, is quite frankly irrelevant. So even if the thought of spending two hours watching a kids movie puts you off, don't be. Some things, like the magnificent artistry of this film, deserve everybody's attention... no matter what your age.  |
