Dir: Hayao Miyazaki / 2008 / 101 minutes / Cert: TBC Starring: Yosuke Kubozuka, Kou Shibasaki, Shinobu Ootake
Director Hayao Miyazaki is playing in a league of his own with Ponyo, a sweet, gentle, moving and always delightful Japanese take on the classic Little Mermaid fable.
In this highly-creative take on Hans Christian Andersen’s fable, Ponyo is a unique fish who escapes from her sorcerer father’s underwater home and is found by Sosuke, who lives on the top of a cliff in a small seaside village. Sosuke’s father, Koichi is the captain of a freighter and spends most of his life at sea; his mother Lisa works at a day care centre for the elderly, and Sosuke attends its school. Ponyo’s love for Sosuke makes her want to become human, but her desires carry all sorts of risks, especially for the residents of Sosuke’s town, young and old alike.
Ultimately her mother, the Queen of the Sea, will have to intervene and little Sosuke will have to prove his mettle if Ponyo is to live happily ever after.
