Ponyo (Two-Disc Edition) |  | Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Actors: Noah Lindsey Cyrus, Frankie Jonas, Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Tina Fey
Studio: Disney Presents Studio Ghibli
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $16.99
as of 9/8/2010 21:53 CDT details
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Rating:  135 reviews
Sales Rank: 326
Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Japanese (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Rating: G (General Audience)
Region: 1
Discs: 2
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 10185400
UPC: 786936791754
EAN: 0786936791754
ASIN: B002ZTQVGQ
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
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Product Description
PONYO - 2-DISC DVD
Amazon.com
Ponyo confirms Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki's reputation as one of the most imaginative filmmakers working today. Loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid," Ponyo is a magical celebration of innocent love and the fragile beauty of the natural world. The daughter of the sea goddess Gran Mamare (voiced by Cate Blanchett) and the alchemist Fujimoto (Liam Neeson), Ponyo (Noah Cyrus) begins life as an adventurous little goldfish. Chafing at her father's restrictions, she goes in search of adventure and meets Sosuke (Frankie Jonas), a good-natured 5-year-old who lives by the sea. Sosuke adopts Ponyo and quickly wins her heart. Fujimoto uses magic to bring her back, but Ponyo's love for Sosuke proves stronger than his elixirs. She transforms herself into a human girl and returns to him during a spectacular storm at sea, but her metamorphosis upsets the balance of nature, precipitating a crisis only Gran Mamare can resolve. Ponyo contains fantastic moments that suggest dreams-- and reassert the power of hand-drawn animation to create memorable fantasies: No effects-laden Hollywood feature can match the wonder of Ponyo running along the tops of crashing waves on her way back to Sosuke. Ponyo is closer in tone to My Neighbor Totoro than Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, and will appeal to audiences of all ages, including small children. The #1 film in Japan in 2008, Ponyo earned more than ¥14.9 billion (over US$155 million) to become the 8th highest grossing film in Japanese history. (Rated G: A few scary moments, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 135
 Even my son with an Autism diagnosis would watch this! September 8, 2010
Nessa
My son 6, with an autism diagnosis is not usually interested in movies. He would watch this one. Two thumbs up.
Charming, touching, brilliantly animated fluff September 6, 2010
shaxper (Lakewood, OH)
If you're already familiar with the films of Miyazaki, Ponyo will strike you as being a lot lighter and simple -- feel great fluff. However, if you're new to Miyazaki and just looking for a good film to watch with your child, you're likely to be blown away.
On the one hand, Ponyo is far from Miyazaki's greatest work. It lacks depth, dramatic tension, and even a comprehensible plot. A lot of this simple but unique spin on The Little Mermaid simply doesn't make any sense. Fortunately the stunning characters and their idealic rural/coastal Japanese setting keep you entertained enough so as not to really notice. This is a beautiful, beautiful film about a sweet boy, a sweet half fish/half girl, and their incredibly sweet childhood love for each other that's more than platonic, less than romantic, and somehow truer than any other love in the world. The fact that Ponyo's dad lives in an air bubble under the sea, yet must spray himself with water so as not to dry out on land, doesn't seem to matter as much in contrast. It doesn't even matter so much that, at the end, we really have no idea how Saske loving Ponyo is going to stop the underground well from bringing the moon closer to the world in order to make the tides rise and destroy all of humanity, which her dad planned all along but now wants to stop for no apparent reason(??????).
In the end, it was never the plot that really mattered, just the characters. Ponyo is a charming film that reminds us how magical a world childhood can be, shows us how parents, the elderly, and even neighbors can play a positive role in such a world, and enthralls us in endearing animation all the while. And, while the starr-studded vocal credits seem entirely unnecessary, they do an excellent job of conveying the voices of this world, particularly Noah Cyrus as Ponyo.
Ponyo may lack the depth and epic magnitude of Miyazaki classics like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, but it more than makes up for it in beauty, innocence, and tear-inducing happiness.
after watching the video... August 16, 2010
tinman
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This movie was well made but in my opinion the plot was a little simple, but my kids and her friends love it. They keep watching it over and over again.
 Ponyo is a charming and family-friendly film August 10, 2010
Lesley Aeschliman (Enumclaw, WA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ponyo (which is also known as Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea) is a film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. For this film, Miyazaki chose to make a completely 2D film, and not utilize any 3D computer effects. This approach gives Ponyo a very distinct feel when compared to some of the more recent films that have been produced by Studio Ghibli. However, I believe that the simplicity of the animation really works well with the story being told in the film. Ponyo is a very family-friendly film, and can be enjoyed by both younger and older viewers alike.
There is one bonus feature on the first DVD, which is a roughly three-minute documentary titled, "Disc Introduction - Meet Ponyo." This documentary features Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, who were involved with producing the English dub of the film.
The second disc in the set has a set up menu as well, which allows you to choose between English and Japanese audio. The features are split into two sections: "Original Japanese Storyboards" and "The World of Ghibli." Just like on Disney's previous releases of Studio Ghibli films, the "Original Japanese Storyboards" is simply a version of the film with storyboards.
The menu for "The World of Ghibli" is split into two sections: "Behind the Studio" and "Other Ghibli Worlds Preview." It starts out with five documentaries, which run anywhere from 2-5 minutes, discussing various aspects of producing Ponyo (and some also briefly touch on some of Miyazaki's other works). These subtitled documentaries feature either Hayao Miyazaki or Toshio Suzuki (the producer). This is followed by a nine-and-a-half minute excerpt from a Japanese documentary about where Ponyo is set. This is followed by a roughly eight-minute documentary about how Joe Hiashi scored some of Miyazaki's films. Then, there are the original Japanese trailers (which are two trailers that run for three-and-a-half minutes). The final feature in this menu is "Behind the Microphone," a six-minute long documentary about recording the English dub of Ponyo.
The "Other Ghibli Worlds Preview" has sections for My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Castle in the Sky. Each one has a short documentary featuring Miyazaki.
On this disc, there is also "Enter the Lands." In the menu for this feature, there are elements from all of Studio Ghibli's films, but only elements for Ponyo, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and Castle in the Sky can be selected. For Ponyo, there is a character quiz. For the other three films, you see a short promo, and then 3-4 page menus with clickable elements (characters give you character bios, and other items react when chosen).
If you are a fan of Miyazaki, or you enjoy the films of Studio Ghibli, then you should see Ponyo. Even though some of the features on disc two of the Disney DVD set are a little disappointing, this is a DVD that should be in the collection of any anime fan.
I wrote this review after watching a copy of this DVD that I checked out through the King County Library System.
Too cute! August 6, 2010
K. Pham (Huntington Beach, CA USA)
My boyfriend loved this movie and I actually bought it as a gift; needless to say he loved the fact it was blu-ray and I loved the fact it also contained a DVD as well! Best deal & a great buy!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 135
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