Many of the best-regarded of the Studio Ghibli movies come from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki, who is head of the studio, as well as being one of it’s most prominent creative forces.

Ponyo, or to use it’s full title, Ponyo: On The Cliff By The Sea, shows the hand of his work, and indeed, he was the main creator for the newest film.
Ponyo is very much a fairytale, full of magic, bravery, love, and excitement, and is squarely aimed at children – but it’s hard to imagine adults won’t enjoy something about it.

The story follows a ‘princess of the sea’, who is in the form of a goldfish-like creature, as she escapes from her father, who lives under the sea. She meets a young boy names Sausuke who lives with his mother in a small town by the sea. He names the strange fish he finds washed up on the shore ‘Ponyo’ and quickly realises she is a lot more than she seems – but he is thrilled, fascinated, and caring for her automatically. When she talks to him, he knows that she’s very special, and vows to look after her and love her – but then her father takes her back.
Ponyo decides she wants to be human, and escapes again, but as she is the daughter of the ‘Goddess of the Sea’, and is very magically powerful, she accidentally upsets the balance of things.

Adventure follows after, as Sausuke and Ponyo have to find Sausukes’ mum, as well as overcoming all the challenges before them, and it’s an adventure of the imagination as much as of the characters, in true Ghibli fashion.

All of Miyazaki’s trademarks are present in the movie too – a love for the diversity of nature and it’s gorgeous backdrops. The sheer detail in some of the surroundings and scenery, young protagonists, and strong female characters, as well as a softly-pitched environmental message and moral content.

The last point is probably the biggest difference between a Ghibli and Disney movie – the subtlety of the moral message, pitched gently and not repeatedly shoved in the face of the audience.

The film’s strongest points are it’s beautiful artwork, and the imaginative freedom and absolute fun and joy of it’s story. Even when dangerous and potentially sad or scary moments are happening, it still maintains an air of excitement, fun, and wonder that capture the mind of a child in it’s whole, and remind older viewers what it’s like to see the world through the eyes of a child again – and all without talking down to them.

The fact that Ponyo received a general cinema release is worthy of note – as all of Studio Ghibli’s releases are now distributed by Disney – and without any cuts or alterations to the content, as part of their agreement – it seems like they are finally being taken seriously, and getting the treatment they deserve, by getting full cinema releases.

By comparison, when Spirited Away, which was later selected as the Oscar Winner for best animated film that year, was released in cinemas, it received showings for only a day or a week, at many cinemas, where as Ponyo is showing nationwide, and is still showing after I viewed it more than a week ago.
Hopefully this film will receive as much attention and reward as it’s stablemates, as it certainly deserves it for being an exciting, imaginative, and beautiful to watch piece of cinema, that while simple in it’s storyline and unchallenging, is nonetheless joyful, uplifting and simply fun to watch.