I was curious how my kids would react to this and made sure the first time I saw it I was in their presence. The entire time I couldn't help but be thankful for the marvelous gift Hayao Miyazaki has shared with the world. Time after time he has made me, my families and my friends jaws drop, scaring us, provoking wonder and leaving us awash in joy. His creations are for all time and his latest, Ponyo, takes perhaps the simplest character arc he's ever used in a narrative to great heights. My kids have literally not had this out of the player since we put it in.
A small fish being named Ponyo disobeys her father to experience life on land amid the humans where she meets a small boy and falls in love. Balance must then be restored to the universe or it will collapse. Miyazaki is a master of the rhythms of the mundane able to take simple pauses and transform them into moments of emotional clarity. Ponyo gives him plenty of fodder for such moments. The look of the film on Bluray is absolutely remarkable and the only disappointment here is in the lack of substantive extras which include an introduction from Jon Lasseter, some behind the scenes stuff and a short if solid interview with Miyazaki himself. Lastly you can watch the film as a series of storyboards. A bonus DVD containing only the feature film is also included.
More curious is Disney's decision to re-release three other Miyazaki films on 2 disc Special Edition DVD. It makes me ache to think of this double-dip especially since the extras do seem to be different but no more substantial than last time and anyone who knows Miyazaki already has these or would like to have them on Bluray. Oh well. I suppose it's only a matter of time until we get our wish. Still these two-disc special editions of My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky seem like simple marketing forget me nots.
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