Toshio Suzuki on Ponyo on a Cliff
Ghibli Producer Talks About Upcoming Hayao Miyazaki Film
Mar 3, 2008
Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo on a Cliff (Gake no ue no Ponyo in Japan) is currently one of the most anticipated movies in animated film. The most revered anime director, he has created such masterpieces as the 2003 Oscar winner Spirited Away and 1997's Princess Mononoke for his company, Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki has been called "the Japanese Walt Disney," a term which he hates but it accurately reflects the status he and Studio Ghibli enjoy within the world of anime.
In the wake of his son Goro's success with Tales from Earthsea, Hayao has returned to make Ponyo on a Cliff, a movie that promises to be his strongest statement yet. Even former Studio Ghibli chief and Ponyo producer Toshio Suzuki feels the magic of this film, saying, "I have a hunch it might become a masterpiece. "
Here are some excerpts from an interview Suzuki did with Cut magazine, discussing the movie, its influences, and why Hayao Miyazaki won't use CGI again.
How Did Ponyo on a Cliff Start?
"It was during the winter of 2005 and we started production in October 2006," Suzuki says. "One day Miyazaki consulted me what kind of film to make next and I proposed . . . 'How about something like (Nakagawa Rieko's popular picture book) Iya Iya En?'"
Both Suzuki and Miyazaki were fans of the book, but author Rieko wasn't interested in a film adaptation, even with Miyazaki at the helm. So Miyazaki had to develop another story for his next movie.
Fortuitously, this coincided with a Studio Ghibli field trip to the Kobe district of Japan, and "a small town in the Setonai-kai area." This location kicked Miyazaki's imagination into high gear, and he eventually lived there for two months, working on the countless watercolours that would inform Ponyo's visual statement.
"Miyazaki is a person who has always been influenced a lot by the places he lived or to which he had traveled," says Suzuki. "For example, after he visited Yakushima he created Nausicaa and he got the idea of Kiki after he visited Sweden."
What's Ponyo on a Cliff About?
"The story is very simple, mixing an old tale and The Little Mermaid," says Suzuki. "A young little female fish is swimming and puts her head into a jar. She can't put it off, is washed ashore and is found by a 5-year-old boy. The boy helps her and they quickly fall in love with each other. As the story is very simple, we are focusing on its expression to make it richer and more complex."
One of the biggest elements in Ponyo is the use of water and the ocean. According to Suzuki, 80% of the film takes place on, or in, water, so getting the look right was important for Miyazaki. And that's why he painted a lot of the backgrounds on the film himself.
"The waves are an important theme," says Suzuki. "He never makes others draw the waves. He draws them all by himself. He is devising to find a better way on how to express waves and sea. He is enjoying it . . . I think those are going very well.
"To tell the truth, I almost thought he was over . . . he is already 67," he continues. "Generally speaking, movie directors produce their best in their 40s. And in their 50s and 60s they usually decay. Is it possible to avoid this? Miyazaki always says 'Until when can I do?' However, this time he is making a really youthful movie."
Why Ponyo on a Cliff Won't Have Any CGI
Howl's Moving Castle was unusual for a Miyazaki film in that it was the first flick to use CGI to supplement the traditional hand-drawn animation. However, Miyazaki's flirtation with the medium didn't last long.
"CGI . . . enabled us to make expressions richer when using it as supplement of regular cel animation," Suzuki allows. "On the other hand . . . The progress of computing tech is so fast that it isn't easy to catch up. If a movie at one point is made by the highest tech, it will become outdated soon.
"We tried CGI on Howl’s Moving Castle . . . the legs of the castle were made by CGI. However, it didn't seem very natural to me and I told Miyazaki that his skill was better than that of a computer. He accepted it and quit using CGI after that. Hence the latter half of Howl’s doesn't include any CGI. We now know CGI has both its plus and minus sides. So the theme of Ponyo on a Cliff is as the story: simple. The visual effects are simple as well, while on the other hand it needs very hard working because of the drawing all it by hand."
You can read a complete translation of the Cut interview, by the good folks at Ghibliworld, over here. Ponyo on a Cliff will be released in Japan in July. If this movie does well at the box office, look for a North American release sometime in 2009.
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