History YMMV / PonyoOnTheCliffByTheSea

* BrokenBase: Ponyo, while a good movie in its own right, is occasionally considered divisive by several Studio Ghibli fans. Some call it their favorite movie, while others believe Ponyo to be one of the weakest ''good'' Studio Ghibli film. It also doesn't help that Ponyo also suffers from AwardSnub; ''Film/SpiritedAway'' won the Best Animated Feature award, while ''Film/HowlsMovingCastle'' and ''Film/TheWindRises'' received nominations, but Ponyo was entirely ignored.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Of "Music/RideOfTheValkyries", when Ponyo rides the tsunami to the surface. Possibly a ShoutOut, because her given name is Brunhilde.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Of "Music/RideOfTheValkyries", when Ponyo rides the tsunami to the surface. Possibly a ShoutOut, because her real name is Brunhilde.

* SoOkayItsAverage: Though regarded as Ghibli's best by some, there is also a number of Ghibli fans who find the movie good but forgettable. The most common complaints being the film having flat and uninteresting characters and a story that has little conflict and slow pacing.

* InferredHolocaust: Let's hope that the moon being a direct cause of the massive flood has no impact on the billions of lives across the world or sets humanity back to centuries, because most of technology has been destroyed.

* InferredHolocaust: Oh boy, I sure do hope that the moon being a direct cause of the massive flood has no impact on the billions of lives across the world or sets humanity back to centuries because most of our technology has been destroyed!

** Ponyo, when we first see her. As the movie poster demonstrates, she starts out a human-like but androgynous fish with nothing communicating her sex.

* InferredHolocaust: Oh boy, I hope that the moon being a direct cause of the massive flood has no impact on the billions of lives across the world or sets humanity back to centuries because most of our technology has been destroyed!

** Ponyo, when we first see her. As the movie poster demonstrates, she starts out of a human-like but androgynous fish with nothing communicating her sex.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: The title character herself Ponyo is this, [[AmericansHateTingle especially in America]] where much of her behavior that is meant to be cure more comes off as creepy and gross. Even in Japan though she is rather divisive, with many feeling she a rather unsympathetic and selfish character who endangers a lot of people (albeit unintentionally) with her actions.

** Ponyo, when we first see her. Look at the movie poster.

* SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel: ''Ponyo'' is easily Studio Ghibli's most feel-good movie with especially whimsical moments and incredibly warm ending.

* SoOkayItsAverage: Though regarded as Ghibli's best by some, there is also a number of Ghibli fans who find the movie good but forgettable. The most common complaints being the film having flat and uninteresting characters and a story that takes ''really'' takes its time.

* SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel: ''Ponyo'' is easily Studio Ghibli's most feel-good movie.

* AccidentalInnuendo: "I'd let a fish lick me if it'd get me outta this wheelchair"

* HarsherInHindsight: The March 2011 8.9 earthquake in Tohoku had the ocean sweeping over elevated roads in the same fashion as the film. Nobody dying, and everyone shrugging it off as a 2.0 earthquake? ....yeeeeeeeeeaah.... not really. Makes it a FunnyAneurysmMoment in the film, too.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Creator/MattDamon and Creator/TinaFey's characters are a married couple, although are in separate distance from each other. In the new season of ''[[Series/ThirtyRock 30 Rock]]'', Tina Fey and Matt Damon play characters who are dating each other.
** Creator/LiamNeeson playing a loving, extremely protective father in this movie...then playing an extremely violent version of the same archetype in ''Film/{{Taken}}''.
** ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' fans might notice one of Sosuke's peers holding [[http://imgur.com/r/adventuretime/qz9cVzC a green plush elephant]] that resembles Tree Trunks with tusks, although ''Adventure Time'' had yet to become an actual show when ''Ponyo'' premiered.

** The baby that Ponyo just met has an [[AmbiguousGender unknown gender]].

** Why isn't staying at home an option? Did the old people at the retirement home at least give her a light lecture? They've lived a full life, but if anything happens to Lisa, or her husband at sea during the typhoon, the two kids wouldn't last long.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Fujimoto. Despite (or even because of) the fact that he's a henpecked, crotchety, and overprotective father, ''two-thirds'' of the small but growing fanwork base involves him.

* PainfulRhyme: "She's a little fish from the deep blue sea" / "She's a little girl with a round [[AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLAble tum-MY]]."

* EarWorm: The theme song. Partially due to the presence of certain siblings of certain controversial Disney personalities. But even if you hate the song, it's undeniably catchy... which makes it much more of an EarWorm if you do hate it.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: This anime film by Hayao Miyazaki based loosely on Creator/HansChristianAndersen's TearJerker FairyTale "Literature/TheLittleMermaid" was apparently popular in Denmark enough due to the fact that Denmark simply gave it its own [[http://www.kino.dk/film/p/po/ponyo-paa-klippen-ved-havet Official Website]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: A little girl who happens to be the daughter of a deity, running across the water.

** The "Ponyo loves" fancomic, which has been cloned into many other fandoms. In it a character talks about the people and things they love in an animated fashion, only to get a serious face when introduced to an antagonistic/oppressive character and express their love of revolution.

** The "Ponyo loves" fancomic, which has been cloned into many other fandoms as a CounterpartComparison of sorts. In it a character talks about the people and things they love in an animated fashion, only to get a serious face when introduced to an antagonistic/oppressive character and express their love of revolution.

* MostAnnoyingSound: Both Kumiko and The Baby have an annoying cry when they're upset.

* AmericansHateTingle: Ponyo herself is pretty divisive to American audiences, due to her occasional gross-out nature and oddities throughout.

** You could also say that it's because he's an adorable {{Cloudcuckoolander}} and overprotective but ''loving'' father.
** Or that he looks and dresses like a magical SteamPunk Creator/TimBurton character.
** Or that he looks like a redheaded cross between Music/DavidBowie and Creator/NeilGaiman.
** Or because he has a mostly untouched backstory as a former human who became an undying sorcerer of the sea.
** Or because he's ''funny as hell''.
** Or just that he can be creepy and adorkable at the same time (at least in the English dub, since some of it has to do with his voice). For instance: "Respect your father!" (said menacingly, the creeper part) -> essentially a pratfall (dorky) -> "Girls, I'm trying to save your sister!" (said pleadingly/worriedly, kinda cute as a protective dad thing).
** [[RunningGag Or because]] he's voiced by Creator/LiamNeeson in the English dub.
** How about all of the above?

* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: To be expected of a Creator/StudioGhibli production, obviously, but ''Ponyo'' is particularly notable in that none of the film was animated with CGI.