Ponyo
Powerful otherworldliness and not a hint of 3D CGI in sight. Ponyo’s failure to attract academy nominations has baffled critics.

Powerful otherworldliness and not a hint of 3D CGI in sight. Ponyo’s failure to attract academy nominations has baffled critics.

There isn’t a digitally enhanced frame throughout the film. Director Hiyao Miyazaki at the Venice film festival explained animation as ‘something that needs the pencil, needs man’s drawing hand.’ But while critics have seen the film as antidote to Avatar ‘fever’ and the introduction to even more emphasis on digital, sadly, it hasn’t been met by audiences with the same enthusiam as recent Miyazaki blockbusters Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle.

Arguably one of the key reasons for its limited success is the refusal of expected linear narrative structures of western animation.  Inconsistencies in the story and organisation of the complex world of Ponyo, such as character ambiguity or a gold fish that lives in salt water, can be viewed as strange or problematic for an audience less used to a more mystical style.  The world conjured by the vision of the sea (also a living thing with a personality) drive the decentred plot allowing the exploration of a fantasy world seen through the eyes of a small child.  Prioritising the felt experience of the audience over plot affords Ponyo sensitivity in its complex and original treatment of difficult subject matter such as parenthood, attitudes to old age, childhood separation and ecological issues.

The story centres on a young gold fish with an over-bearing, powerful, ocean-dwelling father, who is fascinated by human life. Sound familiar? Not really, it certainly doesn’t bear much resemblance to The Little Mermaid beyond basic description. In her struggle to become human she encounters the wrath of her father and the complexities of human relationships against a backdrop of the interplay between man and nature.

Ultimately what makes the film difficult to digest is also most magical about Ponyo, (and each of Miyazaki’s films), his ability to present a window into childhood psyche without translation. Seen in this original form, a child’s world retains its mysterious magic. It is hard to think young minds would find the same difficulty in suspending their logical sense in order to engage with the enchanting world Miyazaki creates.