Gake no ue no Ponyo (2008)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writers:

Hayao Miyazaki (written by) and
Melissa Mathison (story)

Release Date:

19 July 2008 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Welcome To A World Where Anything Is Possible.

Plot:

An animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human. |

Plot Keywords:

Princess | Cliff | Mother | Local Blockbuster | Fish

Awards:

6 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Yuria Nara	...	Ponyo (voice)
Hiroki Doi	...	Sosuke (voice)
Jôji Tokoro	...	Fujimoto (voice)
Tomoko Yamaguchi	...	Risa (voice)
Yuki Amami	...	Guranmamare (voice)
Kazushige Nagashima	...	Kôichi (voice)
Akiko Yano	...	Ponyo no kyôdai (voice)
Shinichi Hatori	...	Anchorman (voice)
Tokie Hidari	...	Kayo (voice)
Eimi Hiraoka	...	Kumiko (voice)
Rumi Hîragi	...	Young Mother (voice)
Tomoko Naraoka	...	Yoshie (voice)
Nozomi Ohashi	...	Karen (voice)
Kazuko Yoshiyuki	...	Toki (voice)
Noah Lindsey Cyrus	...	Ponyo (voice: English version) (as Noah Cyrus)

Also Known As:

Ponyo (USA)
Ponyo on the Cliff (International: English title) (literal English title)
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (International: English title)
Untitled Hayao Miyazaki Project (International: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | DTS-ES

Certification:

South Korea:All | Hong Kong:I | Singapore:G | Taiwan:GP | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:AL | Belgium:KT | USA:G (certificate #45429)

Company:

Studio Ghibli

Trivia:

The opening 12 seconds, involving vast schools of fish and undersea creatures, required 1613 pages of conceptual sketches to develop.

Movie Connections:

References Tonari no Totoro (1988)

Soundtrack:

Gake no ue no Ponyo

More juvenile than Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle but still gorgeous.

While Hayao Miyazaki's movies have always been hit-or-miss with me with regards to story, they are unequivocally gorgeous to the eye, with characters of simple animation against a backdrop of artistic images. Ponyo sticks to that formula, with a lead character so adorable I want a plush doll of her and scenery so pretty it wouldn't look out of place framed up as a picture on a wall.

The story, on the other hand, I didn't enjoy quite as much as his last two wide-releases, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. It was just a tad too juvenile, coming across as more for kids and leaving adults to just enjoy the animation.

I was also disappointed that the score done by Joe Hisaishi, who also the scores for the above-mentioned two movies, wasn't nearly as memorable this time around. While I can't quite recall Howl's score now, I still remember it being one of the most beautiful I had ever heard. Ditto Spirited's - though I only remember it being very complementary to the movie. Maybe it's because Ponyo is more juvenile fare that the score isn't quite as haunting. In any case, this movie is still a must-watch for fans of anime or Miyazaki.