This is a wonderful entry point into the world of Studio Ghibli for very young viewers, with enough bright colors to keep toddlers entertained and a heartwarming-enough story to make their parents smile too.
Miyazaki’s eighth Ghibli film came at an interesting time for the company: The studio became as internationally famous as it would ever be after the Oscar success of Spirited Away and the Disney dubs of its catalogue in the aughts. Ghibli was suddenly a household name outside Japan, with a lot of its hits of this era resonating with an older, fantasy-driven audience ( Howl, Mononoke, Spirited). So it was interesting to see Miyazaki make what is arguably Ghibli’s kiddiest film to date in this variation on the The Little Mermaid, starring a goldfish named Ponyo who wishes to become a human girl after he meets a boy named Sōsuke. This is a wonderful entry point into the world of Studio Ghibli for very young viewers, with enough bright colors to keep toddlers entertained and a heartwarming-enough story to make their parents smile too. This is also a time in Ghibli’s history when it was moving back to hand-drawn animation, and it’s easy to see the human touch here. Miyazaki has been said to have enjoyed drawing the sea and waves, and you can feel his heart beating in a lot of this lovely film.