Let me start off by saying this movie is a COMPLETE ripoff of The Little Mermaid. You have the fish that wants to be a human girl, a father who controls the sea and doesn't want her daughter to leave, and a boy that makes the girl want to become human. With that said, let us begin.
My first thoughts when I went into the theater were "Wow! A Hayao Miyazki film? I bet this is going to be as good as Spirited Away!" Well let me say, I was wrong. DEAD WRONG.
When you first glimpse at the movie, It seems really basic. Beautiful scenes showing creatures living in the ocean, and a then you see a tranny living in a submarine. Wait, what? Thats right. The first actual person we see in the movie is a tranny. This is going to hurt.
After that, odd scene, we are treated to a fish with the head of a human coming out of the Sub and mini versions of the fush. This is Ponyo. And the mini fishes are her little sisters. Okay. Now's as good a time as ever to address the design of this movie. All of the landscapes are beautifully detailed. However, the characters are not. As expected from Miyazaki, the characters are simplistic and 90's styled. This works well for the animation and the innocent feel the movie has. However, when the backgrounds are more detailed than the characters themselves, it feels, off putting.
After Ponyo escapes, we cut to a scene of a boy going down the cliff behind his house to the ocean. This boy is Souske,(not to be confused with Sauske.)the hero of this story. At first, you'd think this is pretty good. Relaxing even. But thats when you hear him speak. Don't get me wrong, Frankie Jonas does a pretty decent job with the voice. Its just the acting thats the problem. He sounds like his entire purpose is to point out the obvious and speak awkwardly. I don't care if his character is only 5. No kid speaks like that.
Here's a segment I like to call, Good News, Bad News. A segment where I discuss good traits about the movie and the things that negate it. Like Frankie's good voice, but bad acting.
Good News: Noah Cyrus (yes, that Cyrus)is better at acting than Frankie.
Bad News: Noah's Ponyo is like a cat scratching a chalk board while having a baby crying with a banshee. Its that annoying.
Good News: The voice actors for minor characters are great. Outstanding.
Bad News: There isn't enough screen time for them to get over the main characters.
I'm not going to reveal anymore of the plot, because if I know people, which I do, you'll probably go and see it anyway. So let me say something. THIS MOVIE IS FREAKING LONG! I spent nearly 3 hours watching this movie! Its like a calling card for Miyazaki. Spirited Away was really long, so does this one. But where as Spirited Away was good, this was utter crap.
After one hour, you should pretty much just leave. It gets boring after Ponyo *censored for spoilers*.
As for the soundtrack, its excellent. All of the bacground music is fully orchestrated. That is,until the ending credits. This movie has its own theme song. [link] Watch at your own risk.
All in all, this movie just sucks. Its too freaking long, the main characters can't act, the good actors don't get enough screen time, the ending theme is AWFUL, and its just a ripoff of The Little Mermaid! Really Hayao, I never thought you'd stoop so low. Just don't see it. It isn't worth it.
My first thoughts when I went into the theater were "Wow! A Hayao Miyazki film? I bet this is going to be as good as Spirited Away!" Well let me say, I was wrong. DEAD WRONG.
When you first glimpse at the movie, It seems really basic. Beautiful scenes showing creatures living in the ocean, and a then you see a tranny living in a submarine. Wait, what? Thats right. The first actual person we see in the movie is a tranny. This is going to hurt.
After that, odd scene, we are treated to a fish with the head of a human coming out of the Sub and mini versions of the fush. This is Ponyo. And the mini fishes are her little sisters. Okay. Now's as good a time as ever to address the design of this movie. All of the landscapes are beautifully detailed. However, the characters are not. As expected from Miyazaki, the characters are simplistic and 90's styled. This works well for the animation and the innocent feel the movie has. However, when the backgrounds are more detailed than the characters themselves, it feels, off putting.
After Ponyo escapes, we cut to a scene of a boy going down the cliff behind his house to the ocean. This boy is Souske,(not to be confused with Sauske.)the hero of this story. At first, you'd think this is pretty good. Relaxing even. But thats when you hear him speak. Don't get me wrong, Frankie Jonas does a pretty decent job with the voice. Its just the acting thats the problem. He sounds like his entire purpose is to point out the obvious and speak awkwardly. I don't care if his character is only 5. No kid speaks like that.
Here's a segment I like to call, Good News, Bad News. A segment where I discuss good traits about the movie and the things that negate it. Like Frankie's good voice, but bad acting.
Good News: Noah Cyrus (yes, that Cyrus)is better at acting than Frankie.
Bad News: Noah's Ponyo is like a cat scratching a chalk board while having a baby crying with a banshee. Its that annoying.
Good News: The voice actors for minor characters are great. Outstanding.
Bad News: There isn't enough screen time for them to get over the main characters.
I'm not going to reveal anymore of the plot, because if I know people, which I do, you'll probably go and see it anyway. So let me say something. THIS MOVIE IS FREAKING LONG! I spent nearly 3 hours watching this movie! Its like a calling card for Miyazaki. Spirited Away was really long, so does this one. But where as Spirited Away was good, this was utter crap.
After one hour, you should pretty much just leave. It gets boring after Ponyo *censored for spoilers*.
As for the soundtrack, its excellent. All of the bacground music is fully orchestrated. That is,until the ending credits. This movie has its own theme song. [link] Watch at your own risk.
All in all, this movie just sucks. Its too freaking long, the main characters can't act, the good actors don't get enough screen time, the ending theme is AWFUL, and its just a ripoff of The Little Mermaid! Really Hayao, I never thought you'd stoop so low. Just don't see it. It isn't worth it.
