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Ponyo: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Common questions
When was the animated film Ponyo released in Japan?
The film was released by Toho on the 19th of July 2008 in theatres across Japan on 481 screens. This release date marked a record for a domestic film in Japan.
Who directed the 2008 animated film Ponyo?
Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed the film as his eighth film for Studio Ghibli and his tenth overall. He chose to return to traditional hand-drawn animation for this project despite the industry's growing reliance on computer graphics.
What happens to Ponyo after she licks Sōsuke's blood?
Licking the blood from Sōsuke's wound grants Ponyo the power to begin transforming into a human. This magical process sets off a chain reaction of events threatening to upset the balance of nature and causes a tsunami.
How much money did Ponyo gross by the 9th of November 2008?
The film grossed ¥10 billion in its first month of release and reached a total of ¥15.0 billion as of the 9th of November 2008. It was released in the U.S. and Canada on the 14th of August 2009 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Who performed the theme song Gake no Ue no Ponyo?
The theme song was performed by Fujioka Fujimaki and eight-year-old Nozomi Ohashi. The song entered the top 100 on the Oricon Weekly Charts on July 14 and ranked 3rd on August 4 after the film's release.
On the 19th of July 2008, a goldfish-like creature named Ponyo escaped the ocean and changed the course of animation history. The story begins when a five-year-old boy named Sōsuke finds her trapped in a glass jar on the shore of a small fishing town. In a moment of desperation, Sōsuke shatters the jar with a rock and cuts his finger. The creature, who would later be named Ponyo, licks the blood from his wound, healing it almost instantly. This act of licking human blood grants her the power to begin transforming into a human, a magical process that sets off a chain reaction of events threatening to upset the balance of nature. The film, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, was not just a children's story but a complex exploration of love, nature, and the consequences of unchecked magic. It was the eighth film Miyazaki directed for Studio Ghibli and his tenth overall, marking a significant point in his career where he chose to return to traditional hand-drawn animation despite the industry's growing reliance on computer graphics.
The Wizard and The Sea
Fujimoto, a misanthropic wizard who was once human, lives underwater with his daughter Brunhilde and her numerous smaller sisters, who are goldfish-like creatures with human faces. While she and her siblings are on an outing with their father in his four-flippered submarine, Brunhilde sneaks off and floats away on the back of a jellyfish. After an encounter with a fishing trawler, she becomes trapped in a glass jar and drifts to the shore of a small fishing town where she is rescued by a five-year-old boy named Sōsuke. Fujimoto, distraught over his lost daughter, searches frantically and calls his wave spirits to recover her, leaving Sōsuke heartbroken and confused by what happened. The wizard's fear of the outside world and his desire to protect his daughter from the chaos of human life drive much of the conflict in the film. He forces Ponyo back into her true form and leaves to summon Ponyo's mother, Gran Mamare, the Goddess of Mercy. The tension between Fujimoto's protective nature and Ponyo's desire to be human creates a narrative that is both personal and epic in scale.
The Magic That Broke The World
Ponyo refuses to let her father call her by her birth name, declaring her desire to be a human named Ponyo. She magically begins changing into a human, a power granted to her by Sōsuke's human blood that she licked. Fujimoto forces her back into her true form and leaves to summon Ponyo's mother, Gran Mamare. Meanwhile, Ponyo, with the help of her sisters, breaks away from her father and inadvertently uses his magic to make herself human. The huge amount of magic that she releases into the ocean causes an imbalance in nature, resulting in a tsunami. The film depicts the moon appearing to fall out of its orbit and satellites falling like shooting stars, symptoms of the dangerous imbalance of nature that now exists. Gran Mamare reassures Fujimoto, and declares that if Sōsuke can pass a test, Ponyo can live as a human and the balance of nature will be restored. Fujimoto, still worried, reminds her that if Sōsuke fails the test, Ponyo will turn into sea foam. The stakes are incredibly high, as the fate of the world hangs in the balance of a five-year-old boy's love for a fish-girl.
The next day, Sōsuke and Ponyo find that most of the land around the house has been covered by the ocean. Since it is impossible for Lisa to come home, the two decide to find her. With Ponyo's magic, they make Sōsuke's pop-pop boat bigger to traverse the waters, seeing marine life from the Late Devonian period and more people on boats. When they reach the forest, however, Ponyo tires and falls asleep, and the boat slowly reverts to its original size. Sōsuke drags Ponyo to the shore, where he finds Lisa's abandoned car. As they continue walking, Ponyo mysteriously reverts to her fish form. Meanwhile, Gran Mamare grants Lisa and the residents of the nursing home the temporary ability to breathe in water. Ponyo and Sōsuke encounter Fujimoto, who warns the boy about the imbalance of nature and begs him to return Ponyo to him. Despite their attempt to escape, Fujimoto captures them and transports them to the protected nursing home. The journey is a testament to the bond between the two children, as they face the challenges of a world turned upside down by magic.
The Test Of True Love
Sōsuke reunites with Lisa and meets Gran Mamare, with whom Lisa has just had a long private conversation. Gran Mamare asks him if he can love Ponyo whether she is a fish or human; Sōsuke confirms that he does. She then informs her daughter that she must relinquish her magical powers if she decides to permanently transform into a human. Ponyo agrees, and she is encased in a bubble given to Sōsuke, who is instructed to kiss it to complete Ponyo's transformation, as the balance of nature is restored. The previously stranded ships head back to port. Fujimoto respects his daughter's choice, having decided he can trust Sōsuke. Ponyo then joyfully jumps high in the air and kisses Sōsuke, completing her transformation into a human. The test is a simple yet profound moment that defines the film's themes of love and acceptance. It is a moment that resonates with audiences of all ages, proving that love can overcome even the most magical of obstacles.
The Art Of Hand Drawing
Production of Ponyo began in May 2006, with Katsuya Kondō given the role of animation supervisor. He worked closely with Miyazaki in outlining a set of goals that defined the direction of the project, including the use of traditional animation throughout production. Borrowing from Kondō's experience in animating House Hunting, Ponyo would use solid and simple lines; in isolating basic animation elements, the film would aim to demonstrate the advantages of hand drawn animation through the depiction of motion that cannot be reproduced in any other medium. An example of the simple style is when Miyazaki painted a picture of Ponyo riding on a flock of fish, called Ponyo is Here, which was inspired by him listening to Ride of the Valkyries while writing a letter to his staff about going with a more elemental style. This would later become a scene in the film. In normal productions, animating a sailing ship would usually involve drawing one cel and sliding it across the frame, which would fix it in a predefined perspective and direction. Miyazaki, however, wanted the ships that appeared in Ponyo to be drawn frame-by-frame. A few previous Studio Ghibli films used computer-generated imagery, the earliest being Princess Mononoke in 1997. For the production of Ponyo however, the computer graphics section at the studio was closed to prioritize hand-drawn animation.
The Music Of The Sea
Ponyo's eponymous theme song, Gake no Ue no Ponyo, was released ahead of the film on the 5th of December 2007, performed by Fujioka Fujimaki and eight-year-old Nozomi Ohashi. It entered the top 100 on the Oricon Weekly Charts on July 14, then rose to 24th on July 21, then 6th on July 28, and after the release of the film it ranked 3rd on August 4. By the end of 2008, it was ranked as the 14th highest selling single on the Oricon Yearly Charts. Ohashi was also the youngest participant in the 59th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, beating Cute's Mai Hagiwara's record at age 11. Afterward, Ohashi announced her unit with Fujioka Fujimaki was disbanding. An English-translated pop version of the theme was recorded by Jonas and Cyrus to tie in with the film's English release. The theme plays over the second half of the English version's closing credits; the first half is a translated version of the theme rather than a remix. The film score of Ponyo was composed by Joe Hisaishi, Miyazaki's regular collaborator. The score album, published on compact disc in Japan by Tokuma Japan Communications, in South Korea by Pony Canyon Korea and throughout Europe by Germany-based label Colosseum, received a great deal of press in the West, including positive reviews from several veteran film music reviewers.
A Global Phenomenon
The film was released by Toho on the 19th of July 2008, in theatres across Japan on 481 screens, a record for a domestic film. As it had beaten Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior, which had opened on the same day. It grossed ¥10 billion in its first month of release, and a total of ¥15.0 billion as of the 9th of November 2008. The film was released in the U.S. and Canada on the 14th of August 2009, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through their Walt Disney Pictures banner and The Kennedy/Marshall Company, opening at a wide release at 927 theaters across America, which is by far the widest release for a Studio Ghibli film ever in the U.S. The film's English dub was directed by John Lasseter, Brad Lewis and Peter Sohn of Pixar and produced by Frank Marshall, Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter, Steve Alpert, and Kathleen Kennedy; the English script was written by Melissa Mathison. In July 2009, there were multiple pre-screenings of the film in California. Miyazaki traveled to America to promote this film by speaking at the University of California, Berkeley, and San Diego Comic-Con. The film received critical acclaim, with Rotten Tomatoes compiling 174 reviews and determining that 91% were positive, with an average score of 7.6 out of 10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on 29 reviews, indicating universal acclaim. The film won five awards at the 8th annual Tokyo Anime Awards, including Anime of the year and Best domestic feature. Miyazaki received the award for best director and best original story, and Noboru Yoshida received the award for best art direction. The film won the awards for Animation of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Music at the 32nd Japan Academy Prize.