Academy Award Winning director Hayao Miyazaki of
My Neighbor Totoro and
Kiki's Delivery Service brings to the big screen another sure fire hit. Inspired by the story of
The Little Mermaid,
Ponyo is the story of an adventurous little goldfish whose parents are the keepers of the sea. The curious little goldfish wanders off during an outing with her father and sisters, catching hold of a jellyfish and floating to the water's surface- where she promptly gets marooned in a small tidal pool. To her aid, comes a young boy named Sosuke (pronounced: sews-kay). While rescuing the little fish he cuts his finger and when he picks her up she licks the blood from the wound and it heals instantaneously. Fearing that his daughter was kidnapped by humans, her father the wizard Fujimoto, sends wave spirits to rescue her. Upon returning home, the little fish refuses to be called her former name and demands to be called Ponyo. She fights with her family and wants desperately to be a part of the human world, so she steals her father's magical powers and transforms herself into a human girl and goes off in search of her friend, Sosuke. Her transformation sets in motion a series of unfortunate events as she has upset the balance of nature that only her mother, grandmamere can fix.
The story is simply about the innocent, pure love and friendship as only children can experience- it's not a romantic love, but love for the sake of love. The film explores the intertwined nature of the natural world- how humans can act as conservators of nature. Kids of all ages who enjoy Japanese animation, stories about friendship, and classic fairy tales will enjoy this beautifully hand drawn animated tale.
Ages 6+
Rating: Outstanding
