Have you ever heard of the movie known as “Ponyo”? This adorable movie was produced by the renowned Japanese Studio Ghibli, which is famous for its whimsical anime art style and ability to make every frame of its movies look like a painting. The co-founder of Studio Ghibli and mastermind behind most of its films is Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki is notorious for his beautiful, tear-jerking movies that leave a lasting impact on the audience.
The story of “Ponyo” follows a boy named Sosuke, who lives by the sea. Sosuke goes out exploring the beach by his house one day where he finds a small goldfish, which he names “Ponyo”, trapped in a glass jar. Sosuke breaks the glass jar, accidentally cutting his hand in the process. When he picks up Ponyo she licks his wound, almost completely healing it.
Ponyo’s father, Fujimoto, a sea wizard, wants to get her back home in the sea, as he believes if Ponyo stays on land the world will be thrown into disarray. He sends out his wave spirits to find her. While the spirits do retrieve Ponyo, they also whip up a typhoon-like storm around where Sosuke lives.
Ponyo refuses for her father to call her by her birth name, “Brunhilde”, declaring to him that she wants to be a human named Ponyo. She uses the blood she licked from Sosuke to turn into a human with the use of her magic. Fujimoto turns her back into her true form and leaves to summon Ponyo’s mother, Gran Mamare. While Fujimoto is gone though, Ponyo’s sisters help her break out, and use their father’s magic to make her human again. However, they accidentally use so much magic that the amount released causes an imbalance in nature leading to a tsunami.
Finding her way back to Sosuke’s house, Ponyo meets Sosuke’s mother, Lisa, who allows them to stay at their house. After making the two kids food, Lisa leaves to check on the elderly woman at the nursing home she works at after the tsunami subsides. As this happens, Fujimoto meets with Gran Mamare. He notices how the moon seems to be falling out of orbit, and satellites are falling which to him are obvious signs that nature is dangerously out of balance. Gran Mamare assures him that it will be fine, and if Sosuke passes a test Ponyo can live as a human, and nature will be restored. Fujimoto reminds her that if Sosuke were to fail the test though, Ponyo would turn into sea foam.
When Ponyo and Sosuke wake up the next morning, they find that most of the land around the house has been flooded by the ocean. Sosuke wants to search for his mom, so Ponyo uses her magic to make Sosuke’s pop-pop boat, a toy boat that runs on a candle, bigger for the two of them to ride around and find Lisa.
When they start to explore they see ancient fish swimming in the waters beneath them, and more people around also on boats. When the two reach the forest, Ponyo starts to fall asleep, and the boat begins to turn back to its original size. Sosuke drags Ponyo to shore, where he also finds Lisa’s car. While walking with Ponyo, she randomly turns back into her fish form.
On the way to the nursing home Fujimoto finds Sosuke and asks for him to give back Ponyo, but Sosuke refuses and attempts to flee. Fujimoto catches him and takes him to the elderly home where Lisa and the elderly women are completely fine as there is a bubble protecting the home, and letting them breathe freely. While there, Lisa and Sosuke reunite and Sosuke meets Gran Mamare, who Lisa just had a long conversation with about something private. Gran Mamare asks Sosuke if he could love Ponyo as a fish or a human, and he says that he would. Gran Mamare then tells her Ponyo that if she were to become human she would have to give up her powers, which Ponyo says she’s fine with. Gran Mamare encases Ponyo in a bubble and instructs Sosuke to kiss the bubble, and with that kiss, everything goes back to normal. Ocean levels go down, ancient fish return to the depths, and stranded ships can return to their ports.
I give Ponyo a 10/10 because of the story’s execution and overall whimsical vibe. Sure, there are plenty of romance movies, even animated ones, but Miyazaki always designs his stories masterfully, with a finesse that not many have. His characters have depth, even at the smallest moments and actions, and “Ponyo” is certainly no exception. All the characters act independently, yet still complement each other perfectly in a way that makes this story feel whole.
