Tiny Little Fish

Ponyo is only the third movie by Hayao Miyazaki I've seen in my life, and even though I liked it, it would come in last after Howl's Moving Castle and Kiki's Delivery Service. However, Ponyo is pure Miyazaki, with fun, interesting characters and a whimsical story you never quite know what to expect of.

Ponyo tells the story of a fish that wants to become human, and even though this sounds like The Little Mermaid, this movie is quite different from the Hans Christian Andersen tale. I think my favorite part was how everyone just took this in stride. They would meet Ponyo, who used to be a fish, and they would just say "Right on," and continue as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. And from there, things just keep getting stranger.

Just like in Howl's Moving Castle and Kiki's Delivery Service, there are children in the movie, loving parents, old people, and strange characters living in this hand-drawn world of crayon colors and deceivingly simple designs. It is a pretty movie to watch, and even though it was quite entertaining and awfully cute, the fact that it seemed to be geared toward a really young audience made me enjoy it less than I did Castle or Service. Still, Ponyo is a fun time at the movies, and if you are a Miyazaki fan you should definitely check it out. But maybe on DVD.