Unless you frequent the world of Japanese animation, the name Hayao Miyazaki probably is not very familiar to you. In his native country, however, he is regarded as a master filmmaker, with each of his recent movies breaking box office records. Watch a Miyazaki film, and it's all too easy to understand the appeal. His films are always completely hand-drawn with hardly a trace of CG, and are awash in color, detail, and life. His stories also always have universal appeal. They are simple enough for children to understand, but emotional and engaging enough for adults.

His latest film, Ponyo, is no exception. This is a wondrous fairy tale that is charming, imaginative, funny, and heartfelt. Like all of Miyazaki's recent movies, it was a massive hit in Japan, and has now been brought to America by the Disney studios. This is not the kind of hatchet job that most anime get when they are dubbed into English. Disney has spared no expense for the English version, hiring John Lasseter (Toy Story, Cars) and Melissa Mathison (E.T.) to faithfully adapt Miyazaki's original screenplay. They have also hired a top-flight cast of voice talent including Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Betty White, Cloris Leachman, and Lily Tomlin. I usually view anime dubs with the same level of disgust I view intestinal parasites, but here, they've done a fine job finding actors whose voices not only fit their roles, but don't draw attention to themselves. (Aside from Neeson's unmistakable voice, you're never reminded of who is playing whom.) More than this, this is a fantastic movie for both young and old to experience.

The film opens with a beautiful and mostly dialogue-free underwater sequence, where the aquatic wizard Fujimoto (voice by Liam Neeson) keeps a careful eye over the seas, and makes sure everything is in balance. He generally despises humans, due to the way they pollute and mistreat the ocean, and expects all of the fish under his command to follow his example and never venture up to land. There's one little fish who lets her curiosity about the world above get the better of her. She floats up to the surface with the aid of a jellyfish, and is discovered by a five-year-old boy named Sosuke (Frankie Jonas, younger brother of the Jonas Brothers music group). Sosuke frees the little fish from a jar that she had gotten stuck in during her journey to the surface, and the two manage to strike a friendship before Fujimoto comes up on land to take the little fish back where she belongs. The fish, however, just won't stay put. She has magical powers, just like her mother the sea goddess (Cate Blanchett), and these powers allow her to take the form of a human so that she can return to the surface and be with Sosuke again.

As a human, she can now speak (her voice is provided by Noah Cyrus, younger sister of Miley), and goes by the name of Ponyo (the name Sosuke gave her when he rescued her as a fish). She happily reunites with her new human friend and his mother (Tina Fey), who are worried that the seas seem unusually violent. Sosuke's father (Matt Damon) is the captain of a ship at sea, and they fear he may be in danger. We soon learn that Ponyo's actions to live on land have caused an imbalance in nature, which is causing the sea to grow into a powerful flood that threatens the entire town. Ponyo uses her magic to turn Sosuke's toy boat into a giant one that they can use to navigate the waters of the flooded town to search for his father, as well as his mother, when she goes off to check on the elderly ladies (Betty White, Cloris Leachman, Lily Tomlin) that she cares for at the Senior Center where she works.

The story told in Ponyo is a simple one of discovery, friendship, and the relationship between man and nature. It doesn't get bogged down in a message, or overly complicates itself. It is charmingly disarming. We are immediately drawn to the characters. The opening sequence, where Ponyo sneaks away from her father to go to the surface world, is one of the most endearing introductions to a main character I've seen in an animated film in a while. It's impossible not to fall in love with the chubby little fish with the human-like face. She draws laughter just from some of her facial expressions, and the way her body twists and distorts fluidly as she swims to the world above. It reminded me of the wonder of traditional hand-drawn animation. As impressive and precise as CG can be, it sometimes lacks the warmth and artistic exaggeration of cell drawings. Look at the way little Ponyo's body stretches and bends as she struggles to fight a strong water current, or when she becomes trapped inside the jar. For someone who holds a strong respect for animation, it's wonderful to watch, and I can only hope Disney's upcoming The Princess and the Frog is good enough and successful enough to begin a resurgence in traditional animation.

Even if that movie isn't enough, this one features more than enough evidence as to why the art form needs to carry on. There is a spellbinding sequence where Ponyo (in her human form) literally rides a tsunami wave by running on the backs of giant fishes leaping out of the water. Also impressive are the scenes late in the film, where Sosuke and Ponyo ride the boat through the flooded streets of the town, and we can see fish swimming underneath them across the submerged streets and cities. The visuals alone would almost be worth recommending the film, but Ponyo also has a lot more warmth and heart to its characters than most films targeted at young kids. We worry about little Sosuke when he fears his parents may be lost in the flood, and delight in Ponyo's personal discoveries, especially her love for ham. In a charming change of pace, there are no real antagonists to the story. Even the wizard Fujimoto, who comes across as being very harsh early on, is just trying to protect the balance of the world when he forbids Ponyo from going to the surface. This is a movie that remembers the innocence and wonder of childhood, and doesn't feel the need to fill it with CG aliens or man-eating booger monsters, as seen in Aliens in the Attic and Shorts.
Ponyo has received a larger release than most anime films get for a theatrical run over here, but it's still mostly playing in limited areas. This doesn't make sense to me, as the film holds huge appeal for just about anyone who watches it. Miyazaki is a masterful storyteller, and the people responsible for the English version have carried on his tradition. You can tell that this was a labor of love for everyone involved. When I look back on the summer of 2009, I'll do my best to forget the giant robots and mutant superheroes as soon as possible. But I'll be holding onto my memories of this charming little fish and the movie she inhabits for a long time to come.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

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