Ponyo
(Gake no ue no Ponyo)

Both beautifully simple and incredibly profound, this poetic, visually breathtaking work by animation great Hayao Miyazaki is overflowing with charm and imagination.

An utterly perfect first big screen feature experience for even the smallest of audience members, Ponyo is an enthralling masterpiece of all-ages wonderment from the heart and mind of Japanese animation genius Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro). Among the film’s many pleasures are a heartwarming depiction of the complexity of developing kid friendships, a non-condescending representation of old age, and a timely yet subtle ecological agenda.

A weird, wonderful aquatic romp, riffing on Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid mythology, this is the story of Ponyo, a young and eager goldfish, on her quest to become human. Five-year-old bowl-cutted Sosuke lives on a cliff by the ocean with his mother. After he discovers a goldfish on the beach an extraordinary tale unfolds. This open-hearted little goldfish is the daughter of a powerful sea wizard, and when she uses her father’s magic to transform herself into a sprite-like human girl, she sets off an almighty weather event. Ponyo's formidable magical powers are as much of a surprise to her as they are to us, and her adventures, which flit between land and sea, full of real heart.