When I first saw Ponyo, I had seen exactly one other Miyazaki film (Spirited Away, which I had thought was interesting but hard to connect with). I have since seen all of Miyazaki's films, and I have to say that my initial impression still holds: Ponyo is my favorite Miyazaki film (although it has some definite competition from My Neighbor Totoro now).
What makes me love Ponyo so much? The fact that I connected with it on a very key level. This is a film which encapsulates early childhood and the wonder associated with it so perfectly that it's hard to imagine how any media could hope to do better at it. What sets it apart from its next best competition (Totoro) is that it does not go the obvious route of placing the characters in obvious peril which strips the characters of their innocence and can only be resolved by supernatural means. Rather, it sets up a scenario where the lead characters aren't even aware of the danger they're in, and don't really understand it even when they're told about what it means. They don't have their innocence destroyed by the circumstances, but rather preserved by them. It's a tale that celebrates childhood instead of focusing on childhood's end, and that elevates it immensely in my eyes.
I can honestly say that I don't take issue with anything in the movie. It has a few small mistakes across certain scenes, and the pacing is inconsistent between the two halves of the film (which is nothing new for Miyazaki), but none of that bothers me. I can put aside such petty criticisms in light of the fact that the movie speaks to me on a level that few other films dare to: it glorifies childhood, yet respects my intelligence as well. It makes me remember the joys of youth without darkening those memories with a loss of innocence on the characters' behalf. And that makes all the difference.
The film that made me love Miyazaki films
When I first saw Ponyo, I had seen exactly one other Miyazaki film (Spirited Away, which I had thought was interesting but hard to connect with). I have since seen all of Miyazaki's films, and I have to say that my initial impression still holds: Ponyo is my favorite Miyazaki film (although it has some definite competition from My Neighbor Totoro now).
What makes me love Ponyo so much? The fact that I connected with it on a very key level. This is a film which encapsulates early childhood and the wonder associated with it so perfectly that it's hard to imagine how any media could hope to do better at it. What sets it apart from its next best competition (Totoro) is that it does not go the obvious route of placing the characters in obvious peril which strips the characters of their innocence and can only be resolved by supernatural means. Rather, it sets up a scenario where the lead characters aren't even aware of the danger they're in, and don't really understand it even when they're told about what it means. They don't have their innocence destroyed by the circumstances, but rather preserved by them. It's a tale that celebrates childhood instead of focusing on childhood's end, and that elevates it immensely in my eyes.
I can honestly say that I don't take issue with anything in the movie. It has a few small mistakes across certain scenes, and the pacing is inconsistent between the two halves of the film (which is nothing new for Miyazaki), but none of that bothers me. I can put aside such petty criticisms in light of the fact that the movie speaks to me on a level that few other films dare to: it glorifies childhood, yet respects my intelligence as well. It makes me remember the joys of youth without darkening those memories with a loss of innocence on the characters' behalf. And that makes all the difference.