The Dubbed Version Of Miyazaki's PONYO ON THE CLIFF Gets A Mostly Enthusiastic Review!

Quick preface....

Hi, AICN Anime's Scott Green jumping in here for a second before Beak's post In an update to the recent Ponyo news, Variety reports that John Pixar's Lasseter is working with Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy to make Hayao Miyazaki/Ghibli's Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea "the studio's biggest hit ever Stateside." According to the piece, Ghibli has been frustrated that their films have only found a niche audience about anime fans and arthouse goers. From the Variety piece: The goal is to boost both the number of screens and the box office take beyond Ghibli's record for a U.S. release set by "Spirited Away," the Miyazaki toon that earned a little more than $10 million on 714 screens in 2002 and 2003.

Beaks here...

I've been compiling a list of my most anticipated movies for 2009, and would've completely overlooked Miyazaki's PONYO ON THE CLIFF had this review not arrived. The IMDb doesn't have a U.S. release date listed just yet, but I'm sure Disney has an '09 spot picked out for the latest from the world's greatest living animator, so on the list it goes. This is the first review I've read of the dubbed version. Let's see what our contributor thinks...

I grew up on "My Neighbor Totoro". I was raised in a white suburban neighborhood so, if I ever mentioned the film to classmates when I was younger, they'd just give me this bewildered stare. "Totoro" was my first glimpse into Japanese Animation and the film that ultimately led to my fixation with DragonBall as a goofy, confused ten year old. I never investigated the filmmaker's who brought Totoro to life until years later when I saw "Spirited Away" and soon after, "Princess Mononoke", which is my favorite film from Hayao Miyazaki... still is. Although, I haven't seen Howl's Moving Castle... This is the part where I write a story description. I'm not writing a detailed synopsis. I'd spend twenty minutes of my life trying to do the film's premise justice in my own words but you'd skip that part, like I do. Visit Wikipedia or IMDB. They'll do a better job. His new film, GAKE NO UE NO PONYO (PONYO ON THE CLIFF), is along the same lines as "Totoro" and "Spirited Away" in terms of tone. It's geared more toward children but it's a film that will gain your appreciation more and more with time. Like most of Miyazaki's movies, there's an overwhelming amount of imagery to absorb. Miyazaki takes visual storytelling to the extreme. His stories contain some of the most bizarre creations you've ever seen and he never detracts from the story to explain. He allows the viewer to create their own interpretation but continues with the primary narrative and that is, by far, my favorite element about his films. He never spoon feeds the audience. He always unleashes his imagination without restraint. He challenges you, the audiences, to keep up. And of course, the story and characters are strong. The relationship that develops between Ponyo and the boy that finds her, Sosuke, is fucking beautiful. Their relationship is love in it's most uncompromising purity and Miyazaki captures that innocence so flawlessly. I'm not one for spoilers but Sosuke's genuine obliviousness to Ponyo's affection for him provides a lot of the film's laughs, which was a surprise. I've never found myself laughing during Miyazaki's films, merely amused but it's consistent here. This is his funniest film. The comedy in the film feels organic and natural. Jokes and comic moments are never forced but always born from the situations the character's find themselves in. They never do or say anything out of character for a cheap laugh. If you've seen the trailer, then you already know that Ponyo herself is fucking adorable. At the same time, she's kind of a spoiled, rebellious, territorial little bitch. During the film, I couldn't help but wonder what she would be like as an adult wife to this boy. It'd probably end with him committing suicide... but she's irresistible, which sums up how I felt about the film. It's hard not to fall in love with the film's spirit, it's sense of curiosity and wonder. It was a lot like Speed Racer in that way for me. Completely different films but it gave me that feeling of being a kid in love and the confusion and excitement that comes with that. Miyazaki nails that. It's a film that allowed me to escape back into my childhood, which is where it garners a lot of my affection. By the way, I forgot to state the obvious: The animation is incredible. As much as I love Pixar and 3D Animated features, I miss hand drawn animated films so, watching Ponyo was refreshing. There's a sequence that occurs midway through the film, where Ponyo tries to reunite with Sosuke during a Tsunami and it's FAN-FUCKING-FATASTIC. Terrific animation. Onto the bad shit... Some of the film's dubbing was distracting. Particularly with Liam Nesson's character, Ponyo's Father. I fucking hate dubbing. Whether it's animation or live-action, I can't stand it. Animation is admittedly more tolerable than live-action but I almost always find a bit of dialogue that doesn't quite sneak by and it distracts me. There were only a few moments like that for me but not enough to take away the emotional impact. The boy's father (voiced by Matt Damon but you wouldn't notice unless you were told) added for some nice elements for Sosuke and his mother to play off of but otherwise, he was the weakest and most useless character in the film. That's it. I have no other complaints about the film aside from those. It's another Miyazaki classic. Majority of the audience was completely thrown off by the film, which I think is a good sign. Some of the organizers asked people how the film was and I happened to overhear an old couple they asked: "What'd you think of the film?" They look up at the organizer. "Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...." I have a good feeling most American audiences will have a similar response outside of the Miyazaki fans but then again, what film of his didn't totally throw off American audiences. Really good film but not Miyazaki's best. If you're a fan, however, you will be pleased. It's another terrific film from the man.