2008 fairy taleRating: 16/20 (Jen: 14/20; Dylan: 5/20; Emma: 12/20; Abbey: 15/20)
Plot: An animated version of the trippiest episode of The Golden Girls. Dorothy, Blanche, Sophia, and Rose are caught shoplifting make-up from a Walgreens and spend the night in prison. They meet a drug dealer named Ponyo behind bars, and once they're all back on the outside, the girls after paying a small fine and promising to never do it again and Ponyo on a technicality, the girls score some hallucinogens which they ingest by a dumpster. Ponyo says, "Enjoy the dope, ya old bags," before riding off on a scooter. Dorothy, Blanche, Sophia, and Rose begin to hallucinate. Blanche mistakes Rose for a scorpion and stabs her seventy-four times, later claiming that it was in self-defense. Dorothy walks into the sea, mistaking herself for a mermaid, and, because she's not really a mermaid, drowns. Sophia flees, eventually winding up in Tokyo. Ponyo is never heard from again.
I just don't get the logic of Miyazaki's worlds. The world these characters inhabit doesn't obey any of the laws that hold the real world together, and the narrative progression doesn't always make complete sense. Plot holes? More like plot canyons. You'll walk away from Ponyo with something that almost looks like a completed puzzle, but then you'll check your pockets and find fifteen (maybe sixteen) more pieces that you didn't realize you had. And how did the puzzle pieces get in your pocket anyway? You didn't put them there. It must have been an evil wizard, you figure, and then you laugh at yourself because there's no such thing as evil wizards. I don't try to completely understand any of these Ghibli studio movies, at least the first time I watch them. I just let the evil wizards in through the crevices and permit them to tickle me. As with other Miyazaki cartoons, there are some environmental themes, lovely animation, and surreal touches. And like the others, it seems to be told from the perspective of a child, almost to the point where you feel like you're missing things as an adult or even peeking in on a world you're not necessarily supposed to peek in on. The settings are beautiful, especially the unnatural underwater scenes filled with creatures (and colors) that don't really exist. I also liked most of the characters although I was never sure what was going on with Ponyo's father or the grumpy old woman. And I really like the anthropomorphizing of the water during the tsunami scene. I have to go now because an evil wizard is going to try to hide my car keys.
This is half of a great film. The first half was funny, whimsical, beautifully animated, and was interesting because it seemed to be building to something. We watched it as a family, and all of us laughed repeatedly.
ReplyDeleteThen it all falls apart at the point where the mom leaves them alone on the hill (thereby cementing her status as the worst movie-mom in recent memory). At that point Miyazaki seems to lose his way. Things become very random in a bizarre way. The film loses it's eco-message and it becomes about 5 year-old true love. The first half of "Ponyo" is a 17, but the second half brings it down to a 15 overall.
I think a lot of Miyazaki's movies are like that, where the action kind of kicks in and the movie stumbles or sprawls.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen 'My Neighbor Totoro'? If not, I'm putting it on the list!
I have seen about ten anime movies, and I can honestly say I have not liked any of them. Princess Monoke, Howls Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Akira, Vampire Hunter D.......I would give none of them more than a 12...and some of them, like Spirited Away, a five or less. (I give Akira the highest score, simply because it has some fun violence.)
ReplyDeleteSo I am betting that I would not enjoy this "Ponyo" thing one bit.....even the name feels like I am about to get diabetes just from the cutesy sugary intake.
Whimsical....sweet jesus is there anything worse??
So i went and looked at your Spirited Away review, and could not help but notice that I also commented THERE about how I loath Anime.
ReplyDeleteJust ignore me on this anime subject. Apparently I am incapable of just letting anime movies exist without me whining about them.
Anime? You seem to be anti-animation in general!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have problems with people being anti-animation. But anti-whimsy? How's that possible?
And yeah, if you don't like any of those other movies (I haven't seen the vampire one), then you should stay far away from 'Ponyo'...I bet it would make you physically ill.
I like some animation. The Incredibles was a fun movie for me....much better than almost every live action super hero movie out there. I liked A Bugs Life, Pinocchio, both Toy Story's and maybe even Beauty and the Beast enough to give those films 17's or above in your little scale. I like some animation, I just hold it to the same standards I do a live action movie. If there was a live action Up made and it was shot for shot like the animated version, it would not be getting the praise it does now. Same thing with a lot of animation....they are often simple stories being encased in almost criminal amounts of patronizing emotion pulling. (See Wall-E, and Finding Nemo as examples of this.) I dont think they are bad...I just think they are overrated because they are animated, and not because they are good movies.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, Barry...
ReplyDeleteI like animation because of how it frees things up. As dependence on technology grows and grows, that doesn't matter as much though. But I like the idea of a medium allowing an artist to do literally anything he wants with the characters on the screen. Animators who don't take advantage of this freedom should lose their crayons.
I also like the artistic side of animation.
But I definitely understand your angle here.
I watched this with my 5 year old. We both loved it. This was a whimsy-coaster. (You might just change this sites name to "whimsical") Miyazaki plots can drag. I love Monomoke, but it is way too long. Spirited Away hit a lot of dead spots. Ponyo may have been the most consistanly entertaining of his movies that I have seen. I'm still missing Totoro, though I think I saw it as a kid.
ReplyDeleteBecause of this movie, my kid wants to cover his eyes at the table and have me surprise him with raman noodles.
Thanks to my son, I got to see the movie 3 straight times. I began to look at the little details in the background, like the octopus that over the course of a scene sneaks into the house during the flood. My son, the animal lover, pointed it out to me. In a Disney movie, that would have been played for laughs. Here, it added depth.
I believe this movie to be a future children's classic. It's sweet, beautiful, charming, and well put together story.
Don't watch it as an adult. If you were 5 years old, wouldn't you want to have the ocean come to your backdoor?
I have seen this 9 times since Thursday. It gets better everytime I see it. 19/20 (and rising)
Shane, if you want some more street level Anime recomendations, I would love to have you review "Ninja Scroll" or "Read Or Die"
I'll watch your suggestions, Kairow. Unless I completely forget. Remind me later.
ReplyDeleteCool to read about your experiences watching this with X-man. I remember watching 'Toy Story' so many times with Dylan. My appreciation for it grew, and I honestly never really got tired of it. I did start noticing lots and lots of errors, however. I think every wall in Andy's room might have a window at some point in the movie. He must live in a tower.