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The Anime Director, the Fantasy Girl and the Very Real Tsunami

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The Anime Director, the Fantasy Girl and the Very Real Tsunami

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https://apjjf.org/site/make_pdf/3713

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Through the Eyes of a Child:Aspects of Narrative in Ponyo on the Cliffby the Sea

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Through the Eyes of a Child:Aspects of Narrative in Ponyo on the Cliffby the Sea

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http://kyouyou.agu.ac.jp/laboratory/file/GokenKiyou-35.pdf#page=96

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From Shallow to Deep Ecology in HayaoMiyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

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From Shallow to Deep Ecology in HayaoMiyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

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https://www.proquest.com/docview/2730642032/D336015965F04A20PQ/2

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Nature vs. Culture in Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyoon the Cliff by the Sea

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Nature vs. Culture in Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyoon the Cliff by the Sea

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https://www.proquest.com/docview/2730642028/420A528AF0FC423APQ/1

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Nature vs. Culture in Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on - ProQuest

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Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.

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"Sosuke lives with his mother but idolizes his father, Ponyo lives with her father but idolizes her mother (an enormous sea goddess); Ponyo’s father curses humanity but appears in human form; the children’s love propel the narrative but the adults are largely isolated from romance; the line separating life above and below the water becomes increasingly blurred"

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"Sosuke lives with his mother but idolizes his father, Ponyo lives with her father but idolizes her mother (an enormous sea goddess); Ponyo’s father curses humanity but appears in human form; the children’s love propel the narrative but the adults are largely isolated from romance; the line separating life above and below the water becomes increasingly blurred"

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https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/now-in-theaters-ponyo-miyazaki-japan

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Many critics, who know Hayao Miyazaki is a world-class entertainer and that American audiences are still clueing into that fact, seem determined to frame Ponyo as the filmmaker's latest masterpiece. The same set piece or two-a raucous and exciting storm with sea waves undulating like giants serpents, or a picturesque flooded town hosting an assortment of prehistoric marine life-are cited, attention is given to the refreshing hand-drawn aesthetic, and excuses are made for the film's childlike simplicity. But unlike Miyazaki's previous masterpiece for grade school kids, My Neighbor Totoro (1988), his new film (which skews even younger) simply lacks a compelling emotional arc. Culled from themes found in The Little Mermaid (Miyazaki's affection for Western children's literature is renowned), it often feels underdeveloped and random. Characters are visual types rather than personalities (some are human, some are spirit, and some are confusingly perched in between), their relationships are largely static, and aside from the scenes mentioned above, much of the seaside setting is far more ordinary than the bulk of Miyazaki's previous oeuvre. At its best, this is a master working in a minor key; at its worst, it feels like a project in search of structure and conviction.

Sosuke is a five-year-old boy (modeled after Miyazaki's own son at that age) living with his mother, a lighthouse keeper named Lisa (whose absent, sea captain husband echoes Miyazaki's oft-cited workaholic confessions) employed at a nearby nursing home. One day, Sosuke discovers a magical goldfish washed up on shore named Ponyo, and soon a bond of love is formed between them. Ponyo escapes from her father, an enigmatic aquatic sorcerer, and upsets the order of the universe by becoming human, which creates a tsunami that engulfs the town and sends Sosuke and Ponyo in search of Lisa.

Miyazaki gets the energy and charm of the children right, making their steamy ramen meal on a dark and stormy night and their rambunctious slapstick amusing for a while, but it begins to wears thin once it becomes clear that he has no intention of elaborating their personas beyond clumsy cuteness. They might be a tribute to the physical exuberance of youth, but they're about as captivating as a typical babysitting session. Similarly, the residents of the nursing home might have served as a wizened Greek chorus of sorts, but so little effort is made to incorporate them into the story that they mostly seem like a distraction.

There are some interesting contradictions and parallels in the film that, similarly, are merely touched upon: Sosuke lives with his mother but idolizes his father, Ponyo lives with her father but idolizes her mother (an enormous sea goddess); Ponyo's father curses humanity but appears in human form; the children's love propel the narrative but the adults are largely isolated from romance; the line separating life above and below the water becomes increasingly blurred. But the potential for these frictions seems squandered, only interesting in retrospect, like conceptual impulses never fully articulated.

Miyazaki's production methods are more improvisational than many animation directors, who spend long periods developing films in shot-by-shot detail before committing pen to paper or pixel, and in most cases his intuition has served him well. But Ponyo's various elements-many of which seem like hand-me-downs from earlier, more elaborately constructed Miyazaki worlds-never dramatically cohere, and the childlike viewpoint often seems restrictive rather than empowering. Surely the inventor of the cat bus can envision a transport more enticing than a magically enlarged plastic boat? The second half of the film is especially slow going, as the children float around town and episodically interact with passersby and Ponyo's fluctuating powers, the first Miyazaki film in a long while that seems like it's simply marking time.

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"the film's environmental message can be heard loud and clear and is right on target for our challenged times."

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"the film's environmental message can be heard loud and clear and is right on target for our challenged times."

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https://www.animationartconservation.com/ponyo.html

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Any discussion of Hayao Miyazaki's work needs to acknowledge that within the world of Japanese anime, Miyazaki's films are nearly unique. Many anime films use a similar visual style and their directors frequently traffic within storylines of revenge or apocalypse. While the works of Miyazaki do owe their visual lineage to the aesthetics of anime, it's Miyzaki's sensitive portraits of children, girls in particular, and his morality plays that more closely align his films with the type of narratives normally written by children's book authors Lewis Carroll, Hans Christian Andersen or J.R.R. Tolkien. Whether grounded here on Earth or heralding from some mythical place of Miyazaki's creation, Hayao Miyazaki's stories are told with the precision of a master filmmaker. As a director, his visual vocabulary and specialized storytelling are like fellow stylistic auteurs Stanley Kubrick, Tim Burton or Quentin Tarantino -- directors whose aesthetic sense is so strong and storytelling so unique that every film they make, even the small ones, are worth exploring.

As anyone who follows Miyazaki's films would know, the last several of his films have offered grand fables with elaborate stories and thoughtful character growth. A Miyazaki devotee going to see Ponyo might be surprised to find Miyazaki's film offers a smaller story (neither love story nor morality play). Its narrative is simple, literally kid's stuff. Similar to another animated film, the 1938 Walt Disney short, Wynken, Blynken and Nod, Miyazaki's Ponyo in a word is -- charming.

The film's title character Ponyo is a small aquatic girl who lives in the ocean near Tomonoura, Japan. She has many siblings and an overprotective father whose authority she likes to test. The story's other lead character Sōsuke is a small boy who lives with his mother in a house by the shore. One day, like the little mermaid in Hans Christian Andersen's story of the same name, Ponyo rebels, escapes her father's ocean world and ends up washed upon the shore where Sōsuke finds her and takes her home.

The story proceeds in ways you might expect but -- unlike the main characters in Miyazaki's films Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle -- Ponyo, nor her earthbound friend Sōsuke, take on the role of innocent through which we learn some greater spiritual message. Many of Miyazaki's films use the plot device of a curious little girl who learns a lesson. In Ponyo, it's more the case that the little boy Sōsuke takes on that role, however not with the same protagonist emphasis as the little girl in Miyazaki's Spirited Away or with as resounding a moral.

Ponyo, by way of its storytelling, is a simpler film with simpler goals. It's an homage to the type of films Miyazaki made earlier in his career, like Kiki's Delivery Service. It is not concerned with explaining great mysticism nor should an audience watching Ponyo expect a grander purpose beyond being swept away by its visual splendor. Having said that, the film's environmental message can be heard loud and clear and is right on target for our challenged times.

Miyazaki's films, all his films, are a spectacle in the grand way that only Hayao Miyazaki can envision; and, as such, Ponyo's water world offers wonderful colored-pencil backgrounds, epic framing and a kaleidoscope of warm rainbow tones that sit and play under cooler waves made of darkly colored fish. It is a visual music box where stylized goldfish dance. Engaging and hypnotic. Miyazaki plays to his strengths and folds you into his visuals like a master chef making an elaborate dessert. The on-screen result is instantly something to behold. Hayao Miyazaki remains the unchallenged master of wonder.

All images are ©2009 Nibariki-GNDHDDT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The author would like to thank Sarah Baisley for her help.

This article and interview is owned by © Ron Barbagallo.

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ARTICLES ON AESTHETICS IN ANIMATION

BY RON BARBAGALLO:

The Art of Making Pixar's Ratatouille is revealed by way of an introductory article followed by interviews with production designer Harley Jessup, director of photography/lighting Sharon Calahan and the film's writer/director Brad Bird.

Design with a Purpose , an interview with Ralph Eggleston uses production art from Wall-E to illustrate the production design of Pixar's cautionary tale of a robot on a futuristic Earth.

Shedding Light on the Little Matchgirl traces the path director Roger Allers and the Disney Studio took in adapting the Hans Christian Andersen story to animation.

The Destiny of Dalí's Destino , in 1946, Walt Disney invited Salvador Dalí to create an animated short based upon his surrealist art. This writing illustrates how this short got started and tells the story of the film's aesthetic.

A Blade Of Grass is a tour through the aesthetics of 2D background painting at the Disney Studio from 1928 through 1942.

, director / production designer Mike Gabriel created a visual tour de force in this Academy Award® nominated Disney short. This article chronicles how the short was made and includes an interview with Mike Gabriel.

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride , an interview with Graham G. Maiden 's narrates the process involved with taking Tim Burton's concept art and translating Tim's sketches and paintings into fully articulated stop motion puppets.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit , in an interview exclusive to this web site, Nick Park speaks about his influences, on how he uses drawing to tell a story and tells us what it was like to bring Wallace and Gromit to the big screen.

For a complete list of PUBLISHED WORK AND WRITINGS by Ron Barbagallo,

click on the link above and scroll down.

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Any discussion of Hayao Miyazaki's work needs to acknowledge that within the world of Japanese anime, Miyazaki's films are nearly unique. Many anime films use a similar visual style and their directors frequently traffic within storylines of revenge or apocalypse.

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"Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo is a fluid and very fine animated film that is filled with creative underwater imagery and an enchanting musical score."

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"Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo is a fluid and very fine animated film that is filled with creative underwater imagery and an enchanting musical score."

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https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/reviews/view/19254/ponyo

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We are huge fans of Hayao Miyazaki (Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away), the master Japanese animator whose spiritual perspective is evident in his refusal to divide the world into good guys and bad guys, us versus them; in his respect for the long-lived and their special place in the world; and for his celebration of imagination, wonder, and creativity in young and old alike.

In this charming animated feature, which has been loosely adapted from The Little Mermaid, Miyazaki puts himself into the simple and satisfying life of Sosuke (voiced by Frankie Jonas), a five-year old boy who lives by the sea in a house on a cliff with his mother (Tina Fey) and his father (Matt Damon), who is usually away thanks to his job as the pilot on a cargo ship. Sosuke attends preschool and is a favorite visitor to the senior citizen center where his mother works.

On day, this young boy rescues a goldfish with a face that almost looks human. He puts her in pail of water and proudly takes her to school, naming her Ponyo. He's delighted when she responds to him by doing a somersault in the water. Sosuke is so enthralled with Ponyo that he promises he will always protect her. But her father (Liam Neeson) has magical powers over the sea and the fish. He wants her back swimming happily with her school of siblings, and he succeeds to bringing her home again. Desperate to return to life with Sosuke, Ponyo uses some magic of her own to transform herself into a little girl. This causes a lack of balance in the universe, turning the tides into floods and forcing her father and mother, the Queen of the Oceans, to act.

Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo is a fluid and very fine animated film that is filled with creative underwater imagery and an enchanting musical score. We empathize from the outset with Sosuke's delight in having someone to love, take care of, and watch over. His world is one of wonder, the same spirit we all possess until institutions and careless adults knock it out of us. It is a pleasure to watch Sosuke and Ponyo bond as she learns to eat noodles and when called upon, to use her powers of magic to create a boat out of Sosuke's toy ship. Miyazaki makes some points along the way about the human desecration of the natural world.

Alice Miller once wrote: "Children are messengers from a world we once deeply knew, but we have long since forgotten." Miyazaki helps us harvest again those days of innocence and wonder.

Special features on the 2-disc edition DVD include "The world of Ghibli" - visit Ponyo in this extraordinary interactive experience: Enter the Lands, meet the characters, and hear the story of the movie; "Behind the Studio" - discover the film's inspiration through documentaries, including all-new interviews with Hayao Miyazaki"; "Meet Ponyo" - an introduction by the producers; and a storyboard presentation of the movie.

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Ponyo | Film Review | Spirituality & Practice

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A charming fairy tale about a goldfish who becomes a girl and a little boy who loves her and introduces her with pride to his world of wonders.

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"At its core, Ponyo is an sweet, old fashioned fairy tale – albeit one about inter-species love between two five-year-olds (one a former goldfish-with-a-human-head who runs away from home), laced with pro-environmental messages."

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"At its core, Ponyo is an sweet, old fashioned fairy tale – albeit one about inter-species love between two five-year-olds (one a former goldfish-with-a-human-head who runs away from home), laced with pro-environmental messages."

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https://www.cartoonbrew.com/anime/miyazakis-ponyo-2-14947.html

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I just saw the most surreal film released under the Walt Disney banner since... I dunno, The Three Caballeros?

Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo is strictly a kids film (4-9 years old) and I think they'll dig it. But adult viewers may end up scratching their heads and think they are stoned - or seriously wish they were. I struggled with its simplistic narrative during the first half hour, then I gave in to its child's-eye point of view, let go of my adult expectations, and just sat back and enjoyed the insanity. There's a lot of insanity ...but a lot to enjoy as well.

At its core, Ponyo is an sweet, old fashioned fairy tale - albeit one about inter-species love between two five-year-olds (one a former goldfish-with-a-human-head who runs away from home), laced with pro-environmental messages. The animation and imagination on display is wonderful, but the characters do not have much depth, and their motivations are poorly explained. Ponyo's "father" is an "evil Wizard" (her words) wearing a striped suit and ascot, looking like a refugee from Haight-Ashbury, 1968. Ponyo's "mother" is a beautiful giant goddess of calm and wisdom - right out of those early Toei animated features of the 1960s, the ones based on ancient Asian myths and legends.

The artwork itself is strange - its not as sophisticated as recent Miyazaki epics. The backgrounds have a simple pastel crayon-like quality, which is cool; the character design of Ponyo shifts throughout the film from standard Miyazaki design (think Mei from Totoro) to something out of a later John Hubley/Tissa David/Michael Sporn independent films. Not that there's anything wrong with it - in fact, I found that quite refreshing.

Going in, I hoped this feature might have the potential of being Miyazaki's most widely accessible (to western audiences) film, but it isn't. It seems to be even more steeped in Japanese folklore and cultural sensibility than Spirited Away, once again challenging established Hollywood "rules" of narrative storytelling.

With all this in mind, I do recommend the Ponyo experience, especially to small kids and parents of young children. The good news is that Miyazaki is still making "classic" Japanese anime features that push the medium and can blow your mind... just this time don't forget your meds.

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I just saw the most surreal film released under the Walt Disney banner since... I dunno, The Three Caballeros? Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo is strictly a kids film (4-9 years old) and I think they'll dig it. But adult viewers may end up scratching their heads and think they are stoned - or seriously wish they were.

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"This 68-year-old Japanese master continues to create animation drawn by hand, just as “Snow White” and “Pinocchio” were."

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"This 68-year-old Japanese master continues to create animation drawn by hand, just as “Snow White” and “Pinocchio” were."

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https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ponyo-2009

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This begins a friendship. Sosuke (the voice of Frankie Jonas, younger brother of the Jonas Brothers) protects Ponyo ( Noah Cyrus, Miley's kid sister) in a pail until arms and legs pop spontaneously from her body and she becomes a little girl who speaks his language. He takes her to school and to the nursing home next door where his father works; all is wonderful until we discover that by crossing the divide between land and sea, Ponyo has triggered ecological changes that unleash a dangerous tsunami that floods Sosuke's village right up to the doorstep of his house.

This begins an exciting escape in a toy boat that Ponyo magically enlarges, and a dreamlike journey among flooded treetops in search of Sosuke's mother. From the surface, they can see giant prehistoric fish, awakened by the great wave, which cruise the highways his mother once drove.

This cannot help sounding like standard animated fare. But I have failed to evoke the wonder of Hayao Miyazaki's artistry. This 68-year-old Japanese master continues to create animation drawn by hand, just as "Snow White" and " Pinocchio " were. There is a fluid, organic quality to his work that exposes the facile efficiency of CGI. And, my God! - his imagination!

The film opens with a spellbinding, wordless sequence beneath the sea, showing floating jellyfish and scampering bottom-dwellers. The pastels of this scene make "Ponyo" one of the very rare movies where I want to sit in the front row, to drown in it. This is more than "artistry." It is art.

And consider Miyazaki's imagination as he creates a human protector of this seascape, Fujimoto ( Liam Neeson). He is the father of Ponyo and her countless baby sisters (the biology involved is widely not explained). Although he seems sinister at first, his desire to keep Ponyo in the sea is eventually explained because of his concern for the balance of Earth's nature.

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Ponyo movie review & film summary (2009) | Roger Ebert

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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.