Ponyo

As has been said from many corners – the weakest I've seen from Miyazaki so far, and I've seen almost all of his work. I'd almost go so far as to say that this film ran out of steam, plagiarized itself a bit, and lacked the will to drag the film into something suspenseful. Even Kiki was basically a feel-good story where not much happens but we see her character develop, etc. That was missing here. Nothing really happened at all, unless you count little things like the old ladies getting out of their wheelchairs. A Little Mermaid story with no evil, no villains, but with five-year-olds. A colorful, peaceful story that is Miyazaki-esque but somehow soulless. (10/05/2016)

Kiki's guileless fairytale mood meets the ecological message of Nausicaa and the mythological magic of Mononoke. A beautiful tale from a beautiful world, inspired by Norse myths (and one fairy tale), in which flying has been replaced by swimming and Miyazaki's poetic imagination has leapt up another rung. For kids? I don't think so. Certainly not for them. (10/29/2023)

Ponyo, along with My Neighbour Totoro, is a film that is particularly aimed at a younger audience, though it is still more adult than the vast majority of other animated films from anywhere in the world. The the two leads are a couple, this time of young children (or rather a boy and a fish-girl) who share the strongest bond of all - love. Miyazaki once again lets his imagination run wild, resulting in another unforgettable animated tale that is full of magic, magical characters, strange creatures and colour. It may not be on the level of Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, mainly due to the more infantile plot, but it's still an above-average film in its genre. (06/02/2011)

Is this a weaker Miyazaki? So be it, because it really doesn't matter at all. I don't see anything fundamentally weaker in it; on the contrary, there's amazing imagination here again, and it feels fresh to me. Right from the start there are scenes that are beautifully rendered, but most importantly they are imaginative. Simply creative caresses and beautiful characters. (05/20/2017)