Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.
Ponyo is visually stunning, with Miyazaki's hand-drawn watercolor aesthetic delivering some of the most breathtaking and fluid animation in his career — the wave sequence alone earns a 4 in cinematography. The story is warm and imaginative but simpler and less structurally satisfying than Miyazaki's best works, following a fairly loose narrative thread without strong dramatic tension. The voice performances (both Japanese and English dubs) are charming but unexceptional. Novelty is solid given Miyazaki's unmistakable personal vision, but the film draws heavily on The Little Mermaid archetype and feels less singular than Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke. The ending resolves pleasantly if somewhat abruptly, leaning on emotional warmth rather than earned dramatic payoff.