flux

As a work of art, Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo stands head and shoulders above anything I’ve seen in a long time. The animation is sublime, The characters — well, most of them (but more on that later) — live and breathe and invite us into their world, and the gorgeous water effects will haunt my memory for a long time.

The trouble, then, lies with the story. And it’s a shame, because it’s the only thing keeping Ponyo from perfection.

Let me clarify: I have a very flexible notion of what a story is, and I’m not bound to Hollywood’s tight, narrow definition of narrative so much that Miyazaki’s simple, free stories fall outside my palate. It’s quite the opposite, actually. I love his child-like and unapologetically simple films like My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and the relatively elaborate but still unpretentious Howl’s Moving Castle. In fact, it’s because of my fondness for Miyazaki’s approach to story that I felt even more disappointed. Which brings me to the main point:

I felt that in Ponyo, the story tries to say too many things, but fails to tie them together.

Earlier this year, Kevin Koch wrote a critical review of Wall-E titled Wall-E: when Theme and Plot get out of sync. Well, the trouble with Ponyo is that the theme and plot(s) get disconnected. It happens early on in the movie, and in my opinion, they never really meet again.

*Warning: Spoilers below!*
A running theme in Miyazaki’s films has been the relationship between Man and Nature. Another one has been the purity and inner strength found only in children. In Ponyo, the second theme is beautifully and intimately tied in to Sosuke and Ponyo’s relationship; the first theme, however, gets fragmented and cluttered. Only at the beginning of the movie do we see Fujimoto’s anger and apprehension at the pollution of the sea by humans. As Fujimito’s plot progresses, the references to this theme get somewhat far-fetched and tenuous: I’m talking about the ticking-time-bomb cliché about the moon getting closer to the earth, and the declaration by Ponyo’s mother that if Sosuke accepts Ponyo as she is, the balance will be restored and everything will be fine. The link between this part of the plot and the pollution theme feels like a stretch. They could have found a simpler, more direct way to connect the two plots, and left the moon out of the story, resulting in a simpler, leaner story.

How?

Here’s one idea, suggested by my wife Ya Nan. Instead of the second act crisis being the separation of the family by the flood (which was predictable), they could have put Ponyo in a situation that weakened her or mader her fall ill. Then, Sosuke, with his determination and pure heart could bring her back to health — consequently restoring the balance between humans and Nature. It would tie in nicely with the Man/Nature theme, it would maintain the “children are pure and wise” mantra, and it would help streamline the plot and eliminate redundant dialog.

Which brings me to the other imbalance in the story: the two main plots are treated very differently. The plot involving the children is pure, fun, and heartwarming. It brings a sensitivity and depth of character animation that we rarely see on screen. The main character, Ponyo, is bound to steal your heart, and the dynamic between Ponyo and Sosuke has the kind of maturity that many adult-centric dramas fail to achieve.

By contrast, most adult characters in the film (except Sosuke’s mother Lisa) are somewhat one-dimensional, and their parts of the story are relatively colder and more talky. It’s an interesting quirk, and you’ve probably noticed it in Miyazaki’s other movies. It could be his well-known fascination with children that drives him to put his heart and soul into his young stars. Ponyo is no exception.

If my criticism of the story seems like a minor quibble, it probably is, in the larger context of the film. Despite the narrative issues, Ponyo is a joy to watch. It made me wish I lived in one of Hayao Miyazaki’s imagined worlds, where magic makes its way into daily life in the quietest and most surprising ways. Unlike the films of a certain large studio here that uses “Magic” as little more than a marketing mantra.

If you disagree, please leave me a comment and let me know; I welcome a good debate, and you could help me see things I might be missing.

This entry was posted Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 11:30 pm and is filed under story. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.