Criticizing a Miyazaki Hayao movie is like kicking Bambi or dissing a beloved uncle. But sometimes, the deed needs to be done.
Who is Miyazaki Hayao?
Miyazaki Hayao is Japan's animation superstar. His Spirited Away won the 2003 Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Disney has released English-dubbed versions of his movies, voiced by heavyweights such as Claire Danes and Billy Bob Thornton.
He is known for his family-friendly fairy tale anime, but his work has been dark ever since Princess Mononoke. Spirited Away was a mild respite but Howl's Moving Castle was grim.
Ponyo is a welcome change of direction. Its cheery title song clearly indicates Miyazaki Hayao's intention to make Ponyo a lighthearted kiddie movie.
This movie review contains plot spoilers.
Ponyo the Story
Ponyo is about a magical fish (called Ponyo) that wants to become human after being rescued by a boy (Sosuke). This causes disruptions to the magical balance of the sea and her goddess mother has to step in to restore peace and harmony.
Ponyo the Fish
Ponyo isn't the most endearing of characters.
She is a disobedient, petulant child. A blood-sucking (okay, blood-licking) ham-eating carnivore (dogs are carnivores too but there's just something creepy about a carnivorous fish). She squirts water at people she doesn't like (as well as those that she does).
More disturbing is the willingness of the adults to entrust such an immature child with the decision of whether or not to become human. This isn't Ariel, going in with her eyes wide open. This is Maggie Simpson steering the family car for real.
Though obviously not intended as such, there is something disturbing about Ponyo's uninformed determination to become human (she has a schoolgirl crush on Sosuke, and she wants to eat ham). As disturbing as the robot boy's monomaniacal determination to be loved in Spielberg's AI.
Ponyo is psychopathically indifferent to the havoc her actions cause, a trait which doesn't endear her to the audience. Having failed to gain the audience's sympathy, the movie then inevitably fails to engage and entertain.
Metaphor?
Perhaps the story is full of deep metaphors, and isn't really about magical fish. Perhaps, but this does not exempt the movie from basic story-telling scrutiny, from being required to entertain an audience.
Otherwise it becomes a piece of modern art that needs to be explained before it can be appreciated, more about lofty ideas than entertainment. If Moby Dick doesn't work as a whale, it doesn't work as anything.
The Animation
The animation is decent, with some virtuoso effects involving complicated swarms of fish and morphing waves. However the characters just aren't appealingly rendered.
There is nothing close to the irrepressible Kiki (Kiki's Delivery Service) with her ridiculous ribbon or the athletic, acrobatic Nausicaa (Nausicaa). Even the depressed characters in Mamoru Oshii's Sky Crawlers are more interesting in comparison.
The wave effects in Ponyo are impressive, but are not in the same league as the flying sequences and wind and cloud effects in his earlier movies.
Not Miyazaki Hayao's Best
Miyazaki Hayao's best movies are about flying - Nausicaa, Laputa, Porco Rosso, Kiki's Delivery Service.
Sea stories don't seem to work so well for him. Ponyo doesn't have a single flying scene (surfing doesn't count). Strange as it may sound, this seems to have affected the spirit and quality of the rest of the movie.
