The first film that I and my then boyfriend (now my hubby) saw from the Japanese animation film studio, Studio Ghibli, really blew us away. The film was Spirited Away, it was so powerful, from the visuals down to the storyline. Since then we became quite obsessed with watching out for releases from Studio Ghibli and the director of Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki.
Six weeks ago, my hubby brought home Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, the latest offering from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I and my little boy Josh were overjoyed and we watched the movie that night.
Ponyo movie has everything that is Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. What I mean is that it has all the signatures of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli working together--from the magical worlds that one can only see in dreams, to that shadow of loneliness that hangs heavy in the entirety of the film, to the stunning visuals and modern 2D animation. My little boy just loves Ponyo too much that it ran on our PC for two weeks every night last month. But if I were to choose between Spirited Away and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, I'd still go for the older Spirited Away because it has all the magic that an animated film can have, I have yet to see an animated film that could dethrone Spirited Away. That's just my opinion. Ponyo is very good if you haven't seen Spirited Away. I am rating Ponyo 9/10. Spirited Away 10/10. So Ponyo is still highly recommended.
