The first movie by Studio Ghibli to be released for home-viewing on High Definition, the "Ponyo" BluRay release had animation fans waiting with bated breath. First there was the cool but very expensive Japanese version(s), followed by the Disney edition in the United States.
Last week the English-speaking parts of Europe as well as Australia and New-Zealand got their very own edition. But with two versions already out on the markets for months, why does the UK-version by Optimum still warrant a review?
Well... it has a huge collection of English-Friendly extras (the English-friendliness part of which is sorely missed on the Japanese discs) and a whopping lossless 6.1 HD DTS Japanese soundtrack (the lossless 6.1 HD DTS part of which is sorely missed on the US disc...).
So is this release really the best of both worlds? Read on...
The Story:
Five-year-old Sosuke finds a bottle floating in the sea with a strange fish-girl inside. He names the fish-girl Ponyo and the two become friends, but soon Ponyo is reclaimed by her father, a once-human sorcerer who is infatuated with the sea itself.
Wanting to return to Sosuke, Ponyo escapes and borrows all of her father's magic to change herself into a five-year-old girl. Her plan succeeds and she is reunited with Sosuke, but the amount of magic she has unleashed may destroy the world...
I stand behind every single word I wrote about this movie back in 2008. That review was based on a single screening with many children (and the Japanese ambassador) present and narratively flawed or not, "Ponyo" brought down the house.
So I won't repeat all of that here. Instead, I will focus on some new insights I have now that I've had several repeat viewings.
First and foremost, know this: like most films by Miyazaki, "Ponyo" turns out to be almost infinitely rewatchable. My children demand to see this on a near-daily basis and it's not often that I will deny them this pleasure. Miyazaki has stated that some of his films do not run on a script but just follow the flow of the animation. "Ponyo" is definitely such a film, as the story is best put in the back of your mind. Coherence apparently wasn't on the list of necessities, and neither was a third act or an exciting climax. Few films could possibly escape unscathed from the "lalala oops OK happy ending" approach used here but strangely enough it doesn't really seem to affect "Ponyo" much.
Repeat viewings also have the advantage that you no longer carry your initial expectations with you. Storywise, after your first viewing you might ask yourself what the hell happened, but that is no longer a problem when revisiting it. What DOES improve with rewatching "Ponyo" is the realization of how incredibly beautiful the artwork is, and how effective the animation. Screenshots may show the artistry in the drawings but cannot show just how well everything moves. Especially Sosuke and Ponyo together are marvelous as Miyazaki is a bit of a sorcerer himself when it comes to portraying children. There is a richness and depth here which is second to none.
Joe Hisaishi's score is more hallelujah and Disney-like than ever but (like with all of his collaborations with Miyazaki) here it fits. And there is also the irritatingly addictive Ponyo-song (which you children will sing along, and sing along, and sing along...). Thankfully the Dutch might be a bit immune to this ditty, as it is a tone-by-tone match for an old Dutch nursery-rhyme.
(For those interested:
"Toen onze Mops een Mopsje was
Was-ie aardig om te zien,
Nu blaft hij alle da-hagen
en bijt hij bovendien.")
On to the BluRay:
Optimum has released "Ponyo" in the UK on a region-B locked disc, and the same will be true of the Madman edition out in Australia and New Zealand next week. It is, in fact, the same disc and on starting it up you get asked if you want the Madman or the Optimum version. After a few tries I went with Madman, as the Optimum features several forced (but thankfully skippable) trailers.
The Optimum version I bought is called a Special Edition. It costs almost the same as the regular edition but you now get nicer packaging, the DVD, some "Ponyo" postcards and a sheet of rub-off stickers.
On A/V quality, what I say now is true of all BluRay versions of this film: "Ponyo" is a stellar example of how an HD-image can improve your viewing pleasure. Many of the backgrounds in the film are pencil- and crayon-drawn, and the full beauty and texture of these drawings shines through in the razor-sharp video-quality seen here.
On sound though, The Optimum /Madman disc wins by having a lossless Japanese track (controversially left away on the US Disney version) as well as a lossless English track. Both are great tracks with a lot of "Oomph", especially during the stormy sequences, but I always watch these films in Japanese so I'm tickled pink by this disc.
Next are the extras. Included are a large amount of tiny and not-so-tiny featurettes. It starts with some two-and three-minute segments from the American side of things which cover the US release of "Ponyo", including the creation of the English dub, and of course Pixar's John Lasseter shows up to proclaim his love for all things Ghibli.
But after several of these we hit Japanese material which has more meat on its bones. Studio Ghibli released a huge multi-disc "Making-of" documentary with tens of hours of footage, and by the looks of it some cherry-picking has been done from that vast collection of material for this edition. On top of that we get an excerpt from a documentary about existing locations used in Studio Ghibli films, and while the 10-minute segment on this disc only covers "Ponyo" I'd love to see the whole thing!
One of the other featurettes is named "The Five Giants Who Created Ponyo" and this one lasts 50 minutes by itself. None of the five giants mentioned is Hayao Miyazaki, by the way. And there are nice and long interviews with Miyazaki, producer Suzuki and composer Hisaishi.
Furthermore an option is included to watch the whole film with storyboards visible, and there is also a wide selection of trailers for "Ponyo", both of the cinema and TV variety.
All in all a very nice package.
Conclusions:
Studio Ghibli and High-Definition seem born for each other. Optimum/Madman's handling of the "Ponyo" release has made me very happy indeed, and I'm anxiously awaiting the next high-def Ghibli. The Japanese BluRay of "Nausicaä" is about to arrive, so here's hoping Optimum and/or Madman will be releasing that one soon as well...
This disc comes with the highest possible recommendation. Do note that the Optimum /Madman discs are region-locked for "B" (Europe, Australia, New Zealand) so make sure your player can handle that.
"Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo sakana no ko...
aoi umi kara yatta kita,
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo fukaranda,
manmaru onaka no onna no ko.."
...aaargh, now it's STILL stuck in my head, Dutch or not!