Review: Ponyo on the Cliffs By the Sea:

Audiences familiar with Miyazaki’s works will most likely go into “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea,” his latest animated feature, with high expectations. While the premise – a loose retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid” – may not hold much appeal for crowds older than Disney’s target audience, many might expect a master filmmaker such as Miyazaki to be able to turn an overworked story into something unpredictable. Perhaps, if they’re lucky, it will be a mixture of “Spirited Away,” which everyone loved, and “Howl’s Moving Castle,” which no one understood. In other words, a film that’s bizarre but still profoundly interesting – the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, “Ponyo” fails on both accounts.

Don’t get me wrong; “Ponyo” was by no means a bad movie. If it had been made by anyone other than Miyazaki, the lack of originality in favor of a strong visual pull might be excusable. There were certainly some delightful moments in the film, particularly in its opening sequences, which made for wonderful eye candy – a swansong to the smile-inducing images, for kids and adults alike, that Miyazaki typically creates. One scene that immediately comes to mind is the rainbow sea of fish following Ponyo as she emerges from the depths of the ocean to ride on giant Tsunami waves. Miyazaki’s flourishing underwater world, illuminated by the creamy pastel colors, hand-drawn animation and Joe Hisaishi’s lullaby-evoking soundtrack, is hard to dislike.

No matter how old you are, Ponyo doesn’t fail to evoke a sense of wonder and even delight in the viewer, but it doesn’t make a strong enough impression for an older audience, one that wants more than just pretty pictures and a fluffy, somewhat inexplicable ending. In the end, there’s a lot to see, but simply not too much to think about. Ponyo, the goldfish who wants to be a girl, is clearly lovable (the scene where she has ramen for the first time will make one laugh out loud), but unlike Chihiro or Sophie, the heroines in “Spirited Away” and “Howl’s Moving Castle,” Ponyo’s transformation in the film is purely physical. Her falling for Sosuke, the male protagonist and another lovable character, seems superficial as well.

As “Ponyo” went on, the pretty pictures on the screen were dwarfed by the movie’s painfully simplistic storyline. I walked out of the theater thinking, “That’s it?” and judging from the disgruntled conversations of people around me, I wasn’t the only one. “Ponyo” may have been fun to watch, but it lacked the thematic flair that accompanies most Miyazaki movies. The experience was like setting out to eat cake but only getting the frosting; one emerges feeling more than a little empty.

Although “Ponyo” boasts an all-star voice cast (includ ing the voice talents of Tina Fey, Liam Neeson and Cate Blanchett), the characters in themselves are relatively forgettable, save for the no-nonsense sass elicited by Sosuke’s mother (played by Tina Fey). Her presence in the film was a refreshing homage to the strong female characters that Miyazaki’s films are known for. And her manic driving is something else.

In line with “Ponyo’s” stunning visuals but sub par plot, the audience is left with characters that are eccentric and interesting to look at but who lack depth and motivation. The audience never does get a true sense of why Ponyo wants to be a human so badly, in part because her relationship with Sosuke falls short of being anything other than cute. This may be good enough for Disney films and the traditional fairy tale, but Miyazaki’s films are celebrated for a reason – and not for the happily ever after tacked on at the end.

If you want to see something fun and entertaining, by all means give “Ponyo” a shot. But for a better-crafted, more innovative animation film that doesn’t just cater to the Frankie Jonas crowd, revisit one of Miyazaki’s classics instead.