From the brilliant mind of director Hayao Miyazaki comes his tenth creation, Ponyo like anything else Mr. Miyazaki has directed animated and produced.  This film is a treat for the eye, and lots of fun for all ages. There is no surprise Disney has shown many interest in promoting this picture in the United States, and it has done it how it should be done, with an impressive and wonderful cast which includes Matt Damon, Noah Cyrus, Frankie Jones and Cate Blanchett nothing could go wrong. The movie although does not have as much excitement as previous Miyazaki’s productions, it has many important aspects that makes it a must see animated movie for youngsters and adults. 

The movie flows smoothly, which makes it very easy to understand for young kids. It seems that Mr. Miyazaki was targeting this crowd. It is the story of a magical fish like creature named Ponyo, who feels attracted to the human world.  But when she meets a little boy named Sasuke, she falls in love with him and would do everything to be with him. Do not get confused, this is not the Japanese version of the Little Mermaid, nothing close to that, the story is more engaging and elaborate than that Disney’s classic. Its theme is not as complicated, the situations and side stories are also charming. However, the storyline is poor, since it seems that the director did not give much feedback in some situations.  It looks as he just took the solution out of his sleeve without any explanation, and the love part between the two kids, who are pretty young to fall in love, is not well specified.  This for an older audience might be annoying.  The other problem with the film is that it stars kind of slow. Aside from that, the movie is great, the animation is golden, and the world the story takes place is as any of his previous installments, just wonderful. Mr. Miyazaki and his animators were masters in combining the real world with the magical one. Every single scenario, creature (either human or magical) would hypnotize the audience at firs sight. The colors, the detail, and the creativity behind this picture takes it to another level, it transports the audience to this fantastical world. Ponyo also has a great improvement in the comedy department, with little it manages to still get lots of laughs by depicting funny situations.  Furthermore, the script itself adds its fair share of laughs; some of Sasukes’s and Ponyo’s remarks are very ordinary but were put in the right place to steal laughs. 

The most impressive achievement in this movie is without a doubt the story itself. Ponyo and Mr. Miyazaki have achieved something Disney has not done in long time. Miyazaki managed to create a marvelous movie without even adding any rivalry, confrontation, villain, or bad guy in it. All the characters are good guys, none of them have evil motives, and yet the movie does not turn off the audience, on the contrary it wraps the audience in an imaginative and interesting story. Mr. Miyazaki has not stopped to produce magnificent animated movies, and although this one is not as impressive as Spirited Away, Howls Moving Castle, Princess Monanoke and Castle in the sky, Ponyo is a superb and creative story that should be a must see for the fans of Miyazaki and animation in general. Also I recommend this movie to parents who are concerned about evil malecious and disfigured characters.