Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

"Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" is Hayao Miyazaki's latest animation. Being a No. 1 fan of Miyazaki's, I had been anticipating the release of the DVD ever since I've heard of this movie. Finally having a chance to watch it, I'm sad to say it's kind of a disappointment.

The story itself is not attractive, neither is it captivating. At some points I found it difficult to concentrate on the progress. It's either because I have a very distracting movie companion or because of the movie itself.

The story is about... erm... a... mermaid, I supposed, named Ponyo who had, out of curiosity, ran away from home. She (though it was not obvious at the beginning that it's a female, but towards the end I suppose we can make that conclusion) met 5-year-old Sosuke and had taken a great liking to him. Meanwhile Ponyo's worried dad was looking for her to bring her back. And when he finally did, Ponyo declared her choice of becoming a human and live with Sosuke.

I feel that it is not convincing that the bond between Ponyo and Sosuke is very strong since there wasn't much elaboration in this matter. And yeah, the story sounds somewhat like "The Little Mermaid" from Walt Disney a number of years ago. But in this case, it's a love story between two 5-year-old kids! (If you can call that a love story...) I can't help thinking realistic... My movie companion also mentioned that there are many unexplained things.

Anyway maybe I should watch it again. It's possible that I've missed something. I mean, I didn't like "Howl's Moving Castle" that much the first time I watched it; and I don't expect anyone to produce another miracle like "Spirited Away". And for the rest of Miyazaki's fans out there, since you've watched all of his series, why not give this a try as well? Anyone wanna watch I'll be glad to lend it.