Ponyo is loosely based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, The Little Mermaid. It tells the story of Ponyo, a baby goldfish who wants to be a human girl. She runs away from her home under the sea by hanging on to a jellyfish and getting into a glass bottle. Sosuke - a 5 yr old boy - finds her in the bottle and frees her, but in doing so, he cuts himself on the glass. Ponyo uses her magical powers to heal him, but when she tastes his blood she starts becoming human. She and Sosuke become friends and she goes to live with him, but this upsets the balance in nature and her father, the king of the sea, tries to bring her back home.
Ponyo was released in Japan in late 2008, and is slated for release in the English speaking parts of the northern hemisphere in August 2009. Cate Blanchett, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson and Matt Damon provide voices for the film.
If it's anything like Spirited Away - winner of an Academy Award for Best Animated Film in 2003 and one of my favourite movies of all time - I'm sure it will have that enchanting quality that reminds you of the simplicity, happy innocence and never-ending, magical possibilities of childhood.
I also can't wait to hear the musical score for Ponyo - the music is composed by Joe Hisaishi, who was also responsible for the music in Spirited Away. I absolutely adored that soundtrack, and the Train to Nowhere, with No Face? Music/cinema genius.
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