Studio Ghibli Thoughts: Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

In what's probably a first, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is the first Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki film to specifically target the young children demographic, and this is represented by the five-year-old age of the two main characters, Ponyo and Sosuke. True to the brilliance of the studio, the movie still speaks to all other demographics despite its focus on children.

One aspect of starring such young characters is apparent in the movie’s almost primal nature. Ponyo, the magical fish who causes an environmental catastrophe to become a human and live among them, and Sosuke, the simple boy whose uncorrupted goodness allows him to become fast friends with this magical creature, are not complicated by any other thoughts other than their pure desire. As much as they enjoy the tea that Sosuke’s mom prepares for them, they enjoy each point of life in the same innocent manner.

Similarly, the environment around them is showcased with such primal beauty by Miyazaki and his artists, who draw an ocean that moves and feels like a living organism, because, of course, it is. Waves switch around like schools of fish, and the same magic that is transforming Ponyo from a fish to a girl is also bringing back the world into prehistoric times, perhaps comparing Ponyo’s resolve to go onto land to the first animals that ventured away from the ocean.

There is something both simple and profound in the relationships in this movie. Ponyo and Sosuke love each other as any five-year-old kids would love their best friends. Lisa, Sosuke’s mother, is curiously one of Miyazaki’s heroine’s grown up and married, and her life as both a mother to Sosuke and a caretaker in an elderly women’s house is developed strongly in just a few scenes. These are not base caricatures, but complex people drawn into a rather simple story.

It is obvious that Miyazaki really enjoyed making the film, which is both magical and poetic in its artistic composition, despite being simpler than his earlier works. Its style is reminiscent of picture books, and that’s mostly apparent in a later scene when Sosuke and the girl Ponyo sail in an enlarged toy boat. That entire scene compresses the friendship and love these characters feel for each other, as well as the love we hope our world has for us. 

Although I wasn’t this movie’s biggest fan when I first watched it, I was surprised that I never minded watching it again and again, as it became my sister’s favorite movie, and that every time I did, I could notice different things. As such, while it doesn’t rank among Studio Ghibli’s best films, it still is a High-Tier Ghibli film in my opinion.