Ponyo, initially titled in English as Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, is a 2008 Japanese
animated fantasy comedy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli and Toho.
It is Miyazaki's eighth film for Ghibli, and his tenth overall. The plot centers on a goldfish
named Ponyo who befriends a five-year-old human boy, Sōsuke, and wants to become a
human girl. The film has won several awards, including
the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. It was released in Japan on July 19,
2008, in the US and Canada on August 14, 2009, and in the UK on February 12, 2010. The film
reached #9 in the US box office charts for its opening weekend.
Plot Brunhilde is a fish-girl who lives with her
father Fujimoto, a once-human wizard or scientist who now lives underwater, and her numerous
smaller sisters. One day, while she and her siblings are on an outing with their mother
in his four-flippered submarine, Brunhilde sneaks off and floats away on the back of
a jellyfish. After an encounter with a fishing trawler, she ends up stuck in a bottle. She
drifts to the shore of a small fishing town and is found and rescued by a small boy named
Sōsuke. Splitting the bottle open, Sōsuke cuts his finger in the process. Brunhilde
licks his wound when he picks her up, and the wound heals almost instantly. After taking
a great liking to her, Sōsuke renames her Ponyo and promises to protect her forever.
Meanwhile, a distraught Fujimoto is searching frantically for his daughter. Because of his
own bad memories of the human world, he believes that Sōsuke has kidnapped her, and he calls
his wave spirits to recover her. After the wave spirits take Ponyo away, Sōsuke is heartbroken
and goes home with his mother, Lisa, who tries to cheer him up, to no avail.
Ponyo and Fujimoto have an argument, during which Ponyo refuses to let her father call
her by her birth-name, "Brunhilde". She declares her name to be Ponyo and voices her desire
to become human, because she has started to fall in love with Sōsuke. Suddenly she starts
to grow legs and turn into a human, a power granted to her by the human blood she ingested
when she licked Sōsuke's finger. Her father turns her back with difficulty and goes to
summon Ponyo's mother, Granmamare. Meanwhile, Ponyo, with the help of her sisters, breaks
away from her father and uses his magic to make herself fully human. The huge amount
of magic that she inadvertently releases into the ocean causes an imbalance in the world,
resulting in a huge tsunami. Running pell-mell over the waves of the storm, Ponyo goes back
to visit Sōsuke, who is amazed but overjoyed to see her. Lisa is equally amazed, but takes
Ponyo's transformation in stride. Lisa, Sōsuke, and Ponyo wait out the storm at Sōsuke's
house, where Ponyo learns of some of the things in the human world. Worried about the residents
of the nursing home where she works, Lisa leaves to check up on them, promising Sōsuke
that she will return as soon as possible. Granmamare arrives at Fujimoto's submarine.
On her way there, Sōsuke's father sees and recognizes her as the Goddess of Mercy. Fujimoto
notices the moon appears to be falling out of its orbit and satellites are falling like
shooting stars, symptoms of the dangerous imbalance of nature that now exists. Granmamare
declares that if Sōsuke can pass a test, Ponyo can live as a human and the world order
will be restored. A still-worried Fujimoto reminds her that if Sōsuke fails the test,
Ponyo will turn into sea foam. Sōsuke and Ponyo wake up to find that most
of the land around the house has been covered by the ocean. Since it is impossible for Lisa
to come home, the two children decide to find her. With the help of Ponyo's magic, they
make Sōsuke's toy boat life-size and set out across the ocean.
Over the course of their journey, they see prehistoric fish swimming beneath them, and
encounter several other evacuees in boats. After landing and finding Lisa's empty car,
Ponyo and Sōsuke head into a tunnel. There Ponyo loses her human form and reverts into
a fish from using too much of her magical power to help Sōsuke and others along the
way. Meanwhile, Lisa and the residents of the nursing home are below the surface, but
have been temporarily given the power to breathe underwater. Sōsuke and Ponyo encounter Fujimoto,
but Sōsuke doesn't trust him due to Toki's claims and attempts to flee. However, Fujimoto
captures them and takes them down to the protected nursing home.
Sōsuke is reunited with Lisa and meets Granmamare, with whom Lisa has just had a long private
conversation. Granmamare asks Sōsuke if he can love Ponyo whether she is a fish or human.
Sōsuke replies that he "loves all the Ponyos." Granmamare then tells her daughter that if
she chooses to become human once and for all, she will have to give up her magical powers.
Ponyo agrees to this, so Granmamare encases her in a bubble and gives her to Sōsuke,
and tells him that kissing the bubble will complete Ponyo's transformation. The balance
of nature is then restored, and the previously stranded ships head back to port, including
Sōsuke's father's. Ponyo jumps high in the air and kisses Sōsuke, transforming back
into a human. Cast
Tomoko Yamaguchi as Lisa, a caretaker at the Himawari House. Tina Fey provides her voice
in Disney's English adaptation. Kazushige Nagashima as Kōichi, Lisa's husband
and a captain of the Koganeimaru. He is voiced by Matt Damon in Disney's English adaptation.
Yūki Amami as Granmamare, a giant being named the Mother of the Sea. In Disney's English
adaptation, her voice is supplied by Cate Blanchett.
George Tokoro as Fujimoto, a sorcerer who holds a resentment against humans. Fujimoto
is described as not being a villain, but rather as an overly protective and xenophobic father
for whom the more he tried to intervene the more he pushed his daughter Ponyo away. Miyazaki
considered this to be common among Japanese fathers in this day and age. In Disney's English
adaptation, Fujimoto is voiced by Liam Neeson. Tokoro also provides the voice of the Suigyo,
Fujimoto's wave-like minions. Yuria Nara as Ponyo, the daughter of Fujimoto
and Granmamare initially named Brunnhilde. Ponyo is voiced by Noah Cyrus in Disney's
English adaptation. Hiroki Doi as Sōsuke, a five-year-old boy
and the son of Lisa and Kōichi, attending Himawari Elementary School. Frankie Jonas
provides his voice in Disney's English adaptation. Rumi Hiiragi as the Young Mother, a young
woman in her 30s. In Disney's English adaptation, her voice is supplied by Mona Marshall.
Akiko Yano as Ponyo's younger sisters. Kazuko Yoshiyuki as Toki, a powerchair-using
resident of the Himawari House. While she complains frequently and is a bit grumpy,
she occasionally shows her independent-minded, heroic nature. In Disney's English adaptation,
she is voiced by Lily Tomlin. Tomoko Naraoka as Yoshie, a resident of the
Himawari House. In Disney's English adaptation, her voice is supplied by Betty White.
Akiko Takeguchi as Noriko, a resident of the Himawari House. In Disney's English adaption,
her voice is supplied by Cloris Leachman. The cast also includes Tokie Hidari as Kayo,
a resident of the Himawari House and formerly a career woman as a youth, voiced by Marsha
Clark in Disney's English adaptation; Nippon Television announcer Shinichi Hatori voices
The Announcer, a television news reporter who relays information about the hurricane;
he is voiced by Kurt Knutsson in Disney's English adaptation. Emi Hiraoka and Nozomi
Ōhashi voice Kumiko and Karen, attendants of Himawari Nursery School; their respective
English voice actresses are Jennessa Rose and Colleen O'Shaughnessey.
Production Hayao Miyazaki, the film's director and writer,
said his inspiration was the Hans Christian Andersen story, "The Little Mermaid" but his
inspiration was more abstract than a story. Along with animation director Katsuya Kondo
and art director Noboru Yoshida, Miyazaki devised a set of goals which included to use
traditional animation entirely in Ponyo, pursuing the animation and art possibilities without
struggling under the demands of the production schedule, showing the quality of Yoshida's
artwork as well as celebrating the innocence and cheerfulness of a child's universe. Production
of Ponyo began in May 2006, while key animation of Ponyo began in October of that year.
Miyazaki was intimately involved with the hand-drawn animation in Ponyo. He preferred
to draw the sea and waves himself, and enjoyed experimenting with how to express this important
part of the film. The level of detailed drawing present in the film resulted in 170,000 separate
images—a record for a Miyazaki film. Ponyo's name is an onomatopoeia, based on
Miyazaki's idea of what a "soft, squishy softness" sounds like when touched.
The seaside village where the story takes place is inspired by Tomonoura, a real town
in Setonaikai National Park in Japan, where Miyazaki stayed in 2005. Some of the setting
and story was affected by Richard Wagner's opera Die Walküre. The music also makes reference
to Wagner's opera. The character of Sōsuke is based on Miyazaki's son Gorō Miyazaki
when he was five. Sōsuke's name is taken from the hero in the novel The Gate by famous
Japanese novelist Natsume Sōseki. The name of the ship on which Sōsuke's father
works is Koganeimaru, a reference to Studio Ghibli's location in Koganei, Tokyo. Maru
is a common ending for ship names. Miyazaki wanted his next film to be Ponyo
on the Cliff by the Sea 2 but producer Toshio Suzuki convinced him to make The Wind Rises
instead. Distribution
Japan The film was released by Toho on July 19,
2008, in theatres across Japan on 481 screens—a record for a domestic film. It grossed ¥10
billion in its first month of release, and a total of ¥15.0 billion as of November 9,
2008. Tokyo Anime Fair chose Ponyo as Animation
of the Year of 2008, as revealed in a press release by Anime News Network.
North America
Ponyo was released in the U.S. and Canada on August 14, 2009 by Walt Disney Pictures
and The Kennedy/Marshall Company, opening at a wide release at 927 theaters across America,
which is by far the widest release for a Studio Ghibli film ever in the U.S, as compared to
other Miyazaki films. The film's English dub was directed by John
Lasseter, Brad Lewis and Peter Sohn of Pixar, an American computer animation film studio
based in Emeryville, California, and produced by Frank Marshall, Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter,
Steve Alpert, and Kathleen Kennedy; the English script was written by Melissa Mathison.
In July 2009, there were multiple pre-screenings of the film in California. Miyazaki traveled
to America to promote this film by speaking at the University of California, Berkeley
and the San Diego Comic-Con. Soundtrack
Ponyo's eponymous theme song, "Gake no Ue no Ponyo," was released ahead of the film
on December 5, 2007, performed by Fujioka Fujimaki and eight year old Nozomi Ōhashi.
It entered the top 100 on the Oricon Weekly Charts on July 14, then rose to 24th on, then
6th on, and after the release of the film it ranked 3rd. By the end of 2008, it was
ranked as the 14th highest selling single on the Oricon Yearly Charts. Ōhashi was also
the youngest participant in the 59th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, beating Cute's Mai Hagiwara's
record at age 11. Afterward, Ōhashi announced her unit with Fujioka Fujimaki was disbanding.
An English-translated pop version of the theme was recorded by Frankie Jonas and Noah Cyrus,
the voices of Sōsuke and Ponyo in the North American dub, to tie in with the film's English
release. The theme plays over the second half of the English version's closing credits;
the first half is merely a translated version of the theme rather than remix.
The film score of Ponyo was composed by Joe Hisaishi, Miyazaki's regular collaborator.
The score album, published on compact disc in Japan by Tokuma Japan Communications, in
South Korea by Pony Canyon Korea and throughout Europe by Germany-based label Colosseum, received
a great deal of press in the West, including positive reviews from several veteran film
music reviewers. Reception
The film has received very positive reviews from film critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported
that the film has a "certified fresh" rating of 92%, based on 159 reviews, with an average
score of 7.6/10. The consensus is that "While not Miyazaki's best film, Ponyo is a visually
stunning fairy tale that's a sweetly poetic treat for children and Miyazaki fans of all
ages." Metacritic reported an average score of 86/100, based on 29 reviews.
On its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, it made $3,585,852 on 927 screens,
which is a per screen average of $3,868. It also opened at number nine at the United States
and Canada box office. In the United States and Canada the film made a total of $15,090,399
at the box office. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as a DVD/Plush Toy pack,
on March 2, 2010. The Japan Times gave the film four out of
five stars, and praised the film's simple thematic elements and its visual scheme, and
compared the film to Miyazaki's classic animation My Neighbor Totoro.
Anime Diet cited the quality of the translation, noting, "The story and the core of the film
was communicated more than adequately through the professional dub and it did not get in
the way of the sheer delight and joy that Miyazaki wanted to convey." Citing "slight
pacing problems," it gave Ponyo a rating of 88%. The pronunciation of Japanese names in
the English cinema version varied between characters, however.
Critics at the Venice International Film Festival generally had high praise. Wendy Ide of The
Times said Ponyo "is as chaotic and exuberant as a story told by a hyperactive toddler,"
and gave it 4 stars out of 5. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a full
four stars, the highest rank on his review scale, stating that, "There is a word to describe
Ponyo, and that word is magical. This poetic, visually breathtaking work by the greatest
of all animators has such deep charm that adults and children will both be touched.
It's wonderful and never even seems to try: It unfolds fantastically."
The film was rated #2 on Dentsu's list of "2008 Hit Products in Japan", after the Wii
console. Awards
Ponyo was an entrant in the 65th Venice International Film Festival. It received a special mention
in the Bologna Future Film Festival, for "the high artistic and expressive quality of animation
able to give form to wonderful imagination of the worldwide cinema master".
In 2009, Ponyo won five awards at the 8th annual Tokyo Anime Awards. The awards included
"Anime of the year" and "Best domestic feature". Miyazaki received the award for best director
and best original story, and Noboru Yoshida received the award for best art direction.
The film won the awards for Animation of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Music
at the 32nd Japan Academy Prize. See also
Tomonoura, Ponyo's home town References
Sources Studio Ghibli. The Art of Ponyo. Viz Media.
ISBN 978-1-4215-3064-2. Further reading
Sotinel, Thomas. "Japan's fantasy films act as a buffer against the reality of the natural
world". The Guardian Weekly. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
External links Official website
Disney US official site Ponyo at the Internet Movie Database
Ponyo at Anime News Network's encyclopedia Ponyo at AllMovie
Ponyo at Box Office Mojo Ponyo at Rotten Tomatoes
Ponyo at Metacritic