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Miyazaki Makes Magic Again in Ponyo

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 14, 2009 1:33 PM CDT

(Newser) – Hayao Miyazaki has done it again with Ponyo, an animated re-imagining of the Little Mermaid story. Here’s what critics are saying:

Ponyo is, in a word, "magical," writes Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, a “poetic, visually breathtaking work by the greatest of all animators.” Miyazaki’s unparalleled imagination makes it one of the few movies that can delight anyone, adult or child. “This is more than ‘artistry.’ It is art.”

It’s simpler than, say, Spirited Away, but that just “lets you see the director’s greatness more clearly,” writes David Edelstein in New York. It also stays on-message. “When Miyazaki makes films that decry the threat to the natural world, every molecule onscreen resonates with that belief.”
More upbeat than most Miyazaki offerings, it “possesses an almost demonic childish energy and a delight in form,” writes Ronnie Scheib of Variety. “Even Armageddon, as loosed by Ponyo and imagined by Miyazaki, is a wondrous place.”

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In this movie still released by Disney, a scene from the animated film "Ponyo" is shown. (AP Photo/Disney)

"Ponyo" director Hayao Miyazaki poses for a portrait in Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

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The trailer for 'Ponyo.' (Metacafe.com)

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Already I have heard from people who don’t want to see it 'because it’s Japanese.' This is solid-gold ignorance. 'Is it only dubbed?' You dummy! All animated films are dubbed! Little Nemo can’t really speak! - Roger Ebert

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Miyazaki Makes Magic Again in Ponyo

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