We're Walking, We're Walking

I spent a good portion of this morning and afternoon testing the limits of my pedometer by walking around both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. With the throng of people either pushing strollers or scooting along in electric wheelchairs and the surprising heat, I briefly strolled all over the place but managed only one attraction -- the Haunted Mansion -- before succumbing to my need for air conditioning. That's not to say I didn't enjoy my time outdoors -- my face and neck burned a crisp apple red, and my cell phone captured a decent photo of the Grizzly River Run -- but I could only take so much before the siren's song of an air-conditioned movie theater beckoned.

I cut through the lobby of the Grand Californian to savor some cool air before wading through the heat in Downtown Disney. I stuck to the shaded spots while en route to the AMC and stepped into the direct sunlight only a few times before reaching the box office. Thankfully, they still offered matinee prices at a decent time so I purchased a ticket for Hayao Miyazaki's latest hand-drawn animated feature, Ponyo.

Ponyo tells the tale of a little goldfish with a human face, the daughter of Fujimoto, her human father tasked with keeping the balance between the humans and the oceanic world, and Gran Mamare, Goddess of the Sea. While Fujimoto works at his task, she slips away to the surface of the ocean but becomes trapped inside a glass bottle. 5-year-old Sosuke finds her while playing in the water near his home and frees her from the bottle, cutting his finger in the process. Ponyo thanks him by licking the cut which magically heals. But, she also begins to have a taste for being human, much to Fujimoto's dismay. He drags her back to their home beneath the ocean, but Ponyo escapes and returns to Sosuke, sprouting arms and legs in the process and somehow unsettling the balance between the human world and the oceanic world. It's up to Sosuke to make the right decision for himself and for Ponyo which will not only restore the balance between worlds but will also forever impact Ponyo's life.

As with Miyazaki's other films, Ponyo is visually stunning. In a world where computers are now the norm for animated films, Miyazaki still manages to create a vivid and enchanting world with hand-drawn animation. The scenes of life under the waters e -- myriad clouds of jellyfish and plankton stars swimming among the fish and sea creatures. Those same creatures seen from above as they travel the flooded streets of Sosuke's town. Everything is so rich and detailed, something that I feel would have been lost in computer-generated work.

The story itself mixes the fairytale of a girl longing to be something more with a very environmental message, something that seems a constant in Miyazaki's films. The beginning of the film shows how man's pollution has affected the oceanic world, and I cringed at the rubber tires, broken bottles, bits of paper and cans, but it never comes across as heavy handed or too much. My only problem with the story was that at times, it revealed too much, such as when Fujimoto approaches a door in his home, saying that it doesn't fit right, that if something should get into that room the consequences could be disastrous. So you know that Ponyo or Sosuke is somehow going to get mixed up with that room.

The list of actors providing their voices to the dubbing was impressive: Liam Neeson as Fujimoto; Cate Blanchett as Gran Mamere; Tina Fey as Sosuke's mother Lisa; Matt Damon as Sosuke's father Koichi; Cloris Leachman, Betty White and Lily Tomlin as three seniors living at a Senior's home -- wonderful casting. Noah Cyrus as Ponyo and Frankie Jonas as Sosuke added a playfulness to both the stars of the film.

Great animation, a fun story and a good message. Ponyo is a wonderful film that I think both adults and children will enjoy.

Image from Digital Games.