Review of Ponyo (2008) by Chads. — 20 Aug 2009

The government isn't after the fish. This almost Henry Darger-like mermaid(because all the fish are curiously female) poses no threat to national security. Nobody wants to dissect this Vivian siren.

That's the cliche of most American movies whenever there's a non-human creature on the loose. For instance, Ron Howard's "Splash", in which authorities track down the otherworldly entity with the intent to kill.

"Ponyo" gets around this banality by making the mermaid's pursuer a benevolent one. As a result, the film is lacking in suspense, which may put off a western audience, largely used to shopworn tropes such as FBI agents in black coats and shades, and a chase of some sort.

Starting with the mother, the incongruous sight of a fish equipped with a human girl's face, never alarms like it would, or should, in most filmic cases. If the fish-face did, Ponyo's notoriety would eventually get the law's attention with predictable results.

Sophisticated as all Pixar films are, the collected works of this filmmaker truly diverges from animation's preordained roots as strictly a children's genre. "Ponyo" distinguishes itself through its naturalistic domestic scenes, which are virtually indistinguishable from the human interaction you'd find in a live-action film.

A good deal of time is spent on establishing the relationships within a family unit, which may some find boring, as the mother tends to her son and his new playmate with great deliberation. The bar is raised, quietly, as these seemingly uneventful moments that establish character are more exciting than the gorgeous depictions of the girl's underwater world, and the subsequent hurricane above, because such lifelike simulacrum helps make the case for animation as being the equal of your so-called "serious" films.

(NOTE: Dubbing is a necessary evil to attract larger audiences, but some of the dialogue, notably towards the end, is truly hideous.