Can a Five-year-old's Love Save the World?

Hayao Miyazaki's most recent feature, Ponyo, is a Little Mermaid spinoff that asks just that question. In the film, a young boy named Sousuke rescues and befriends a female goldfish whom he names Ponyo. Little does he realize that this particular fish (with a strikingly human face) is the daughter of the powerful undersea ruler, Fujimoto, who uses magical powers to keep the natural forces of the ocean balanced and has a particular dislike for humankind. While her father recovers her quickly, Ponyo has already fallen in love with Sousuke, and wants to become human in order to be with him. Empowered to do so by her magical nature and exposure to human blood (from a small cut on Sousuke's thumb), Ponyo escapes the ocean once again and attempts to complete the transformation.

In the process, she unleashes a tremendous burst of ancient sea life and throws off the delicate natural balance by retaining both her magic and her human form. Ponyo's mother, a sea goddess, persuades Fujimoto that instead of capturing and  holding Ponyo against her will (forcing her to remain a magical being), they should allow her to become fully human (non-magic) if Sousuke passes a test of love that proves him worthy to receive her. This will restore the balance of nature.

Bear in mind that Sousuke is five.

Done without computer animation of any kind, and with a beautiful watercolor type palette, this film is a treat from beginning to end, particularly the scenes that depict the relationships that exist in Sousuke's family. My biggest problem with it is that frankly, the way in which Sousuke's love is proven seems...weak. I won't say what it is, but it was a bit of a letdown. I felt that more should be required of this boy than a mere...what he does.

I've gotten used to Miyazaki's skill in depicting complex moral situations and in creating characters with a wide range of believable emotions. Most of them usually have good motives too, which adds to both their believability and their meaning. This film is no different, although the moral dilemmas are not quite as earth-shattering as is sometimes the case. This is why it surprised me that the film's central conflict should be resolved with such a token effort. Perhaps Miyazaki is being somewhat Disnified (which the kiddie-pop Radio-Disney style song over the end credits seems to suggest), or maybe I'm just missing something.

There are plenty of beautiful scenes here, both visually and thematically. My personal favorite is when Sousuke's father (a ship captain) sails within view of his house - which is on a cliff - the night after telephoning to say he won't be home as promised because he got the chance to take another run. He and his wife, Lisa, engage in a morse code lovers' spat with Sousuke acting as middle man (he's running the signal). Lisa mopes on the bed and answers BUG OFF to every overture her husband makes, but Sousuke's likening of his parents' separation to his own distance from the recently recaptured Ponyo wins the mother over and pulls her out of her distemper.

Fujimoto's mumblings to himself in various scenes also reveal him to be a loving father charged with a very important resonsibility - one that he tries to involve his children in but that he feels he cannot fully share with them yet. But he tries not to neglect his family, if his methods sometimes seem a bit heartless.

There was so much to love about Ponyo, and I give it a high recommendation with this caveat: don't get your hopes up for the ending. If this had been a live action film, I would have guessed that the director suddenly realized he was out of film stock and had no budget for more, but he still had to wrap up the movie. It was that rushed.

So although this film may leave you wanting more, watch it. Show it to your kids. There's nothing too scary or otherwise inappropriate for a five-year-old, and one thing the Miyazaki does deliver on here is a film full of values that children can understand and appreciate, without needing a black-hearted villain or a good fairy to beat them over the head with a stereotype.