A children's film that's at once overly simplistic and needlessly nonsensical.
29 Comments
08/12/09
Ponyo (2009)
91
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:113
Fresh:103
Rotten:10
Average Rating:7.6/10
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.
Theatrical Release:Aug 14, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $14,816,643
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.” ... [More]
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Noah Cyrus, Matt Damon, Tina Fey
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Reviews for Ponyo
Top CriticMiyazaki'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.
08/14/09
Top CriticProbably the most saccarine horror film I've seen in years.
08/14/09
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.
08/13/09
Top CriticHayao 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.
09/02/09
One of the anime master's weaker efforts.
08/20/09
With a starry, first-rate voice cast and the shortened name, this Disney-fied version remains a magnificent animation wonder and a pure delight.
08/10/09
Some may find it too childish, but the movie's innocence is infectious, and Miyazaki's artistry utterly transporting.
08/14/09
If you consider Teletubbies to be a work of creative genius then, yeah, okay, Ponyo is great, too.
08/13/09
Heralds a return to the child-like wonder of Miyazaki’s enduring My Neighbor Totoro. And what do you know? It’s another masterpiece.
08/23/09
Until its fizzle of a finale, Ponyo, Hayao Miyazaki's latest artisanally-crafted animé daydream, brims forth with an appealingly willy-nilly inventiveness pitched to a child's sense of wonder.
08/10/09
I was, I’m afraid, a little lost at times.
08/17/09
Compared to the animated garbage that typically passes through stateside theaters, it's practically a godsend.
08/21/09
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.
08/15/09
Ponyo is something of a disappointment. Leaving aside the plot deficiencies and storytelling awkwardness, Mr. Miyazaki's latest simply doesn't look good.
08/28/09
Parental Content Review
08/14/09
Miyazaki refuses to be dismissed
10/18/09
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.
08/19/09
Top CriticMinor Miyazaki to be sure, this film pales in comparison to many of his recent features.
12/12/09
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?
08/12/09
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