A children's film that's at once overly simplistic and needlessly nonsensical.
Ponyo (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:111
Fresh:101
Rotten:10
Average Rating:7.7/10
Consensus: While not Miyazaki's best film, Ponyo is a visually stunning fairy tale that's a sweetly poetic treat for children of all ages.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Childrens
Synopsis: From the Academy Award®-winning director and world-renowned Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki comes PONYO, a story inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale “The Little Mermaid.” ... From the Academy Award®-winning director and world-renowned Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki comes PONYO, a story inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale “The Little Mermaid.” Already a box-office success in Japan, the story of a young and overeager goldfish named Ponyo (voiced by NOAH CYRUS) and her quest to become human features an outstanding roster of voice talent, including CATE BLANCHETT, MATT DAMON, TINA FEY, CLORIS LEACHMAN, LIAM NEESON, LILY TOMLIN, BETTY WHITE and FRANKIE JONAS as Sosuke, a young boy who befriends Ponyo. --© Walt Disney Pictures [More]
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Noah Cyrus, Matt Damon, Tina Fey
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Noah Cyrus, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, Cloris Leachman, Lily Tomlin, Betty White
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Screenwriter: Hayao Miyazaki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Steve Alpert
Composer: Joe Hisaishi
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Reviews for Ponyo
Miyazaki's artwork can be lovely -- and the delicate, watery colors of Ponyo are particularly well done -- but he's still a slave to the genre's peculiar traditions.
This poetic, visually breathtaking work by the greatest of all animators has such deep charm that adults and children will both be touched. It’s wonderful and never even seems to try: It unfolds fantastically.
Hayao Miyazaki is off his game with this film that has weaker art and animation than his usual films and a script that needed another draft or two.
With a starry, first-rate voice cast and the shortened name, this Disney-fied version remains a magnificent animation wonder and a pure delight.
Some may find it too childish, but the movie's innocence is infectious, and Miyazaki's artistry utterly transporting.
If you consider Teletubbies to be a work of creative genius then, yeah, okay, Ponyo is great, too.
Heralds a return to the child-like wonder of Miyazaki’s enduring My Neighbor Totoro. And what do you know? It’s another masterpiece.
Compared to the animated garbage that typically passes through stateside theaters, it's practically a godsend.
His twisted version of Finding Nemo meets Splash, the movie won't go down as one of his best, but it's still better than 90 percent of animation out there.
Ponyo is something of a disappointment. Leaving aside the plot deficiencies and storytelling awkwardness, Mr. Miyazaki's latest simply doesn't look good.
Ponyo hasn't changed my mind about Miyazaki. But I'm willing to accept and enjoy this little window into the dream life of fish.
What held in the animator’s previous films as eccentrically multifaceted dream logic comes off for once as a series of non sequiturs -- but really, why complain while sucking on an Everlasting Gobstopper of eye candy?
It's very much a charming kids' film, created by a master of animation.
...a sweetly lovable and visually trippy movie that young tots and their parents can enjoy in equal measure.
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