Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
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| Ponyo | |
 |
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| Directed by | Hayao Miyazaki |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Toshio Suzuki |
| Written by | Hayao Miyazaki |
| Starring | Yuria Nara Hiroki Doi Tomoko Yamaguchi George Tokoro Kazushige Nagashima |
| Music by | Joe Hisaishi |
| Cinematography | Atsushi Okui |
| Editing by | Takeshi Seyama |
| Studio | Studio Ghibli The Kennedy/Marshall Company |
| Distributed by | Toho JPN Walt Disney Pictures U.S. Optimum Releasing U.K. Madman Entertainment AU |
| Release date(s) | Japan: July 19, 2008 United Kingdom: August 12, 2009[1] United States & Canada: August 14, 2009 |
| Running time | 101 minutes[2] |
| Country |  Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Budget | ¥ 3.4 billion (US$ 34 million) |
| Gross revenue | ¥ 15 billion (approx.) (US$ $164,565,997 Japan Only) |
Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ Gake no Ue no Ponyo, lit. "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea") is a 2008 Japanese animated film by Studio Ghibli, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is Miyazaki's tenth film for Ghibli. The plot centers on a juvenile fish named Ponyo who wants to become a human girl. In pursuing her goal, she befriends a five-year-old human boy, Sōsuke.
The film has won several awards, including the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.[3] It was released in Japan on July 19, 2008 and will be released in theaters in the US on August 14, 2009.[4]
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[edit] Plot
The plot is centered on a fish girl, or mermaid, who runs away from her home in the sea. She ends up stranded on the shore and is rescued by Sōsuke, a five year old boy who lives on a cliff. After taking a great liking to her, Sōsuke names her Ponyo and vows to protect her forever. Meanwhile, her father, Fujimoto, is looking for his daughter, upset that she ran away. He calls his wave spirits to return Ponyo to him. Sōsuke is heartbroken by this, and goes home with his mother, Lisa (or "Risa" in some translations), who tries to cheer him up, but to no avail.
Ponyo and her father have a confrontation, where Ponyo refuses to let her father call her "Brünnhilde". She declares her name to be Ponyo, and voices her desire to become human because she has started to fall in love with Sōsuke. Her father silences her with difficulty and goes to summon Ponyo's mother. Meanwhile, Ponyo, with the help of her sisters, breaks away from her father, and uses his magic to make herself human. This causes an imbalance in the world, which in turn results in a huge storm. Riding on the waves of the storm, Ponyo goes back to visit Sōsuke. Lisa, Sōsuke, and Ponyo stay the night at Sōsuke's house, hoping the storm will be over, whereupon Lisa leaves the house to check up on the residents of the nursing home she works at.
Granmammare, Ponyo's mother, arrives at Fujimoto's submarine. Fujimoto notices the moon has come out of its orbit and the satellites are falling like shooting stars. Granmammare declares that if Sōsuke and Ponyo pass a test, Ponyo can live as a human and the world order will be restored. Sōsuke and Ponyo wake up to find that most of the land around where the house has been covered by the ocean. Lisa has not come home yet, so with the help of Ponyo's magic, they make Sōsuke's toy boat life-size and set out to find Lisa. While travelling they see ancient extinct fish swimming, such as the Gogonasus and Licosus.
After landing and finding Lisa's empty car, Ponyo and Sōsuke go through a tunnel. There Ponyo loses her human form and resumes the form of a fish. Sōsuke and Ponyo are taken by Fujimoto into the ocean and down to the protected nursing home where they're reunited with Lisa and meet Granmammare. Granmammare asks Sōsuke if he can love Ponyo even if she is a fish or mermaid. Sōsuke replies that he loves Ponyo in all forms. Granmammare then allows Ponyo to become human once Ponyo kisses Sōsuke on the surface.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Japanese Cast
- Yuria Nara[2] - Ponyo
- Hiroki Doi[2] - Sōsuke
- Tomoko Yamaguchi[2] - Lisa
- Kazushige Nagashima[2] - Kōichi
- George Tokoro[2] - Fujimoto, Suigyo.
- Yūki Amami[2] - Granmammare
- Akiko Yano[2] - Ponyo's younger sisters
- Kazuko Yoshiyuki[2] - Toki
- Tomoko Naraoka[2] - Yoshie.
- Tokie Hidari - Kayo
- Rumi Hiiragi[2] - The Young Mother
- Shinichi Hatori - The Announcer
- Emi Hiraoka - Kumiko
- Nozomi Ōhashi - Karen
Additional voices in the Japanese version of the film are provided by Akiko Takeguchi, Yoshie Yamamoto, Tomie Kataoka, Mutsumi Sasaki, Michiko Yamamoto, Eiko Kanazawa, Shirō Saitō, Akihiko Ishizumi, Keiko Tsukamoto, Ikuko Yamamoto and Yūsuke Tezuka.
[edit] English Cast
- Noah Cyrus - Ponyo
- Frankie Jonas - Sōsuke
- Tina Fey - Lisa
- Matt Damon - Kōichi
- Liam Neeson - Fujimoto
- Cate Blanchett - Granmammare
- Cloris Leachman - Toki
- Betty White - Yoshie
- Lily Tomlin - Kayo
- Madison Davenport - Kumiko
Additional English Voices by Bob Bergen
[edit] Production
Production on Ponyo started October 2006.[5]
Miyazaki was intimately involved with the hand-drawn animation in Ponyo. He preferred to draw the sea and waves himself, and enjoyed experimenting with how to express this important part of the film.[5] This level of detailed drawing resulted in an astonishing 170,000 separate images—a record for a Miyazaki film.[6]
The seaside village where the story takes place is inspired by Tomonoura, a real town in Setonaikai National Park in Japan, where Miyazaki stayed in 2005.[7] Some of the setting and story was affected by Wagner's Die Walküre.[8] The character of Sōsuke is based on Miyazaki's son Gorō Miyazaki when he was five.[9] Sōsuke's name is taken from the hero in the famous novel The Gate.[8]
The name of the ship on which Sōsuke's father works is Koganeimaru, a reference to Studio Ghibli's location in Koganei, Tokyo. Maru (丸) is a common ending for ship names. It literally means circle.
[edit] Distribution
[edit] Theatrical
[edit] Japan
The film was released by Toho on July 19, 2008, in theatres across Japan on 481 screens—a record for a domestic film. The film's distributor Toho announced that, by 3pm, the first day box office earnings had already reached 83% of the opening day figure for Spirited Away, which went on to gross a record-breaking ¥30.4 billion (US$284 million).[10][11][12][13] Variety reported that posters on the popular 2channel Internet bulletin board, however claims that Toho is spinning Ponyo's opening figures.[13] Variety reports that: "in fact, Spirited Away opened to only 336 screens and spent a year to score its record numbers.[13] "Spirited Away"'s first day total was only ¥550 million (US$5.1 million), which means Ponyo's Saturday take was about ¥450 million (US$4.2 million). Blog posters also reported empty seats at Ponyo screenings in Tokyo and elsewhere — a sharp contrast from previous Miyazaki films that drew long lines and packed theaters from day one.[13] The 2008 Pokémon film, Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior, was also released on the same weekend which may have attracted viewers away from Ponyo. Nonetheless, Ponyo grossed ¥10 billion ($91 million) in its first month of release, and surpassed ten million viewers in its first 41 days, compared to 31 days for Spirited Away, 44 days for Howl's Moving Castle, and 66 days for Princess Mononoke.[14]
It has grossed a total of ¥15.0 billion ($153.1 million) as of November 9, 2008.[15]
Tokyo Anime Fair chose Ponyo as Animation of the Year of 2008 which was revealed in a press release by Anime News Network.
[edit] North America
Ponyo is scheduled to be released in the U.S. and Canada on August 14, 2009. Produced by Frank Marshall, Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter, Steve Alpert and Kathleen Kennedy.[16]
Disney has updated their web page with more information on the movie.[17] Miley Cyrus's younger sister, Noah Cyrus, will voice Ponyo, while the Jonas Brothers' youngest brother, Frankie Jonas will voice Sōsuke. Matt Damon, Cloris Leachman, Cate Blanchette, Tina Fey and Betty White also have roles in the film.
The film is rated G by the MPAA.
[edit] Soundtrack
Ponyo's theme song was released on December 5, 2007, performed by Fujioka Fujimaki (famous duo Takaaki Fujioka and Naoya Fujimaki) and eight year old Nozomi Ōhashi.[18] It entered the top 100 on the Oricon Weekly Charts on July 14, then rose to 24th on (July 21), then 6th on (July 28), and after the release of the film it ranked 3rd (August 4).[19] By the end of 2008, it was ranked as the 14th highest selling single on the Oricon Yearly Charts. Ōhashi was also the youngest participart in the Kohaku Uta Gassen 2008, beating C-ute's Hagiwara Mai's record at age 11. Afterwards, Ohashi announced that Fujioka Fujimaki was disbanding.[20]
[edit] Reception
The Japan Times gave the film four out of five stars, and praised the film's simple thematic elements and its visual scheme, and compared the film to Miyazaki's classic animation My Neighbor Totoro.[21]
Critics at the Venice International Film Festival generally had high praise.[22][23] Wendy Ide on Times Online said Ponyo "is as chaotic and exuberant as a story told by a hyperactive toddler," and gave it 4 stars out of 5.[24]
The movie was rated #2 on Dentsu's list of "2008 Hit Products in Japan", after the Wii console.[25]
[edit] Awards
Ponyo was an entrant in the 65th Venice International Film Festival.[26] It received a special mention in the Venice Future Film Festival, for "the high artistic and expressive quality of animation able to give form to wonderful imagination of the worldwide cinema master".[27]
In 2009, Ponyo won five awards at the 8th annual Tokyo Anime Awards. The awards included "Anime of the year" and "Best domestic feature". Miyazaki received the award for best director and best original story, and Noboru Yoshida received the award for best art direction.[28]
The film won the awards for Animation of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Music at the 32nd Japan Academy Prize.[29]
[edit] References
- ^ "Optimum Releasing: Theatrical Releases". Optimum Releasing. http://www.optimumreleasing.com/theatricals.php. Retrieved on 2009-04-02.
- ^ Cite Error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named officialsite_credit.
- ^ "Ponyo, DMC Won Japan Academy Awards on Friday". Anime News Network. February 23, 2009. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-02-23/ponyo-dmc-won-japan-academy-awards-on-friday. Retrieved on 2009-07-17.
- ^ "‘Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea’ brings in 15 billion yen during opening weekend". Japan News Review. http://www.japannewsreview.com/entertainment/movies/20080725page_id=4388.
- ^ a b "Executive producer & former president of Studio Ghibli Suzuki Toshio reveals the story behind Ponyo". Ghibliworld. http://www.ghibliworld.com/suzuki_toshio_interview.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
- ^ Kubota, Naoko (August 18, 2008). "Miyazaki reels out adventure story". Nikkei Net Interactive. http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/FR/TNKS/Nni20080818IS0MIYAZ.htm. Retrieved on 2008-08-28.
- ^ "宮崎駿監督最新作「崖の上のポニョ」イラスト独占入手" (in Japanese). 報知新聞. 2008-03-06. http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/entertainment/news/20080306-OHT1T00058.htm. Retrieved on 2008-09-18.
- ^ a b "崖の上のポニョ公式サイト キーワード" (in Japanese). Studio Ghibli. http://www.ghibli.jp/ponyo/press/keyword/. Retrieved on 2008-07-21.
- ^ GhibliWorld.com - The Ultimate Ghibli Collection Site—NEWS & UPDATES
- ^ "Animator Miyazaki's new film hits screens in Japan". AFP. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jMHO-3HqYRcOGOQM_zvYhipP2F1w. Retrieved on 2008-07-19.
- ^ "'Ponyo' a taste of magic". Daily Yomiuri Online. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20080718TDY16001.htm. Retrieved on 2008-07-19.
- ^ "『崖の上のポニョ』“千尋超え”目指し順風な船出". Variety Japan. http://www.varietyjapan.com/news/movie_dom/2k1u7d0000066m7o.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-21.
- ^ a b c d ""Ponyo" opening leaves room for debate". Variety Asia. http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/6515/1/. Retrieved on 2008-07-22.
- ^ "「崖の上のポニョ」観客動員、４１日間で１０００万人突破" (in Japanese). Yomiuri Online. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/entertainment/news/20080829-OYT1T00574.htm. Retrieved on 2008-09-01.
- ^ boxofficemojo
- ^ "Ponyo Dated for August 14 in U.S. Theaters". 2009-03-24. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-03-24/ghibli-ponyo-dated-for-august-14-in-u.s-theaters. Retrieved on 2009-03-25.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Nausicaa.net - October 8, 2007 Radio Ghibli, "Ponyo" Theme Song
- ^ "ポニョ主題歌、ジブリ曲で歴代最高3位＆「ツトム君」以来約32年ぶり快挙" (in Japanese). Oricon. http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/confidence/56763/full/. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.
- ^ "Nozomi Ohashi shines as little star of 59th Red and White Singing Contest". Japan Today. http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment/view/nozomi-ohashi-shines-as-little-star-of-59th-red-and-white-singing-contest. Retrieved on 2009-01-15.
- ^ "It's kids' play for anime king". The Japan Times. 2008-07-11. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ff20080711a1.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-28.
- ^ "Ponyo on Cliff by the sea - Recensioni dalla Critica - Trovacinema - Repubblica" (in Italian). La Repubblica. http://trovacinema.repubblica.it/film/critica/Venezia/350112?speciale=venezia2008. Retrieved on 2008-09-04.
- ^ "65ª Mostra internazionale del Cinema" (in Italian). http://www.sorrisi.com/sorrisi/diretta/art023001043227.jsp. Retrieved on 2008-09-04.
- ^ Wendy Ide. "Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea". The Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/film_reviews/article4653020.ece. Retrieved on 2008-09-01.
- ^ "This year's Big in Japan: consumers rank 2008's attention-grabbing products". mdn.mainichi.jp. http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20081127p2a00m0na013000c.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-28.
- ^ telegraph
- ^ "Future Film Festival Digital Award at 65th Venice Film Festival". Future Film Festival. http://www.futurefilmfestival.org/intl/2008/09/05/future-film-festival-digital-award-at-65th-venice-film-festival/. Retrieved on 2008-10-14.
- ^ 'Ponyo' tops anime awards, Schilling, Mark, Variety (2009-02-20)
- ^ "Ponyo, DMC Won Japan Academy Awards on Friday". Anime News Network. February 23, 2009. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-02-23/ponyo-dmc-won-japan-academy-awards-on-friday. Retrieved on 2009-07-17.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Movie's trailers
- Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea at Allmovie
- Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea at the Internet Movie Database
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