Parent Movie Guide, Parental Site.com

	Film Title: Ponyo		Best for ages: 2 and up.

	Movie Website: Click Here	Year Released: 2009	Rated: G (US)

The Review
I have only seen a handful of animated films from Asia that have made their way to the U.S. on DVD. A few years ago, I fell in love with the Oscar-winning film Spirited Away. It was one of the best-animated films I have ever seen, and despite its lack in animation quality compared to what we see in the United States, the story is what grabbed me. Ponyo is the first films from Asia that I have seen since Spirited Away, and once again, I found myself intrigued with a film from another country. The legendary Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli created both films. Ponyo is about a little female fish whose father was once human, but devoted his life to the Mother (I assume this was Mother Earth or Mother of the Ocean), and has been living under water taking care of all the creatures of the sea and creating others. Ponyo, however, gets away, and while trying to escape from a net, gets stuck in a glass jar and washes up on a beach. She is found by a little boy named Sosuke. Sosuke has cut his finger and Ponyo gets a small taste of his blood, which begins to turn Ponyo into a human. When her father comes for her and takes her back home, she argues with him. She wants to be human, but he refuses to use his magic to turn her. Ponyo gets a hold of her father's magic, including the strongest magic that he keeps hidden. She uses it to not only become human, but to control the ocean so she can find Sosuke. She finds him, but in so doing floods the island towns all around Sosuke’s home. Ponyo and Sosuke go on an adventure to find Sosuke’s mother and learn their true fate together. Ponyo is a wonderful story with great characters and some excellent fantasy animation. It creates an imaginative world under the sea, offers not only a great adventure for kids, but also has a few educational messages. For instance, there is a scene in which Ponyo and Sosuke are looking at sea creatures swimming underneath their boat. All of the fish are from different times in the earth’s history, and together, the children they recite the names of the fish and during what age in history the fish existed. There is also a hint about the way humans treat the oceans. The heavy use of animated garbage littering the ocean floor seems to be a message to the viewer that our oceans need to be respected. You may recognize many of the voice over actors. The film was so successful overseas that actors in the U.S. came together to give the characters their English voices. Talent includes Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Frankie Jonas, Betty White and Lily Tomlin. Noah Lindsey Cyrus, the younger sister of Miley, provides the voice of Ponyo. The Blu-ray disc has many special features. One, “The World of Ghibli,” takes the viewer into the interactive land of the film where you can meet the characters, hear stories about the movie and go behind the scenes at Studio Ghibli with documentaries about the studio and interviews with Hayao Miyazaki. There is also a “Meet Ponyo” feature with an introduction from the producers as well as a storyboard presentation of the film, a sneak peak at Toy Story 3 and many more trailers to Disney films and Blu-ray discs coming soon. Ponyo is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. There are similarities between that story's Arial and King Triton, but Ponyo's story very different from Disney's version of The Little Mermaid. I think Ponyo is the better film and is a lot less violent the Disney film. Yesterday, my daughter started getting into The Little Mermaid. When I came home from work, it was on, and when I woke up this morning, she was on the couch watching it again. I told her about Ponyo tonight, and will let her watch it soon. I think at her age it is a more appropriate movie. Ponyo's most violent element is the storm scene. It is a film about love and the will of two kids to be the best of friends and be together forever. It’s a movie that is well worth adding to your collection, and parents will enjoy this magical adventure as much as their kids will. Click Here
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