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#1 Nov 27 2010 at 11:55 PM Rating: Good
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I just saw it today and I liked it, but can someone explain why they thought it was a good idea to cross the little mermaid with the bible?

The way I understood it is as follows: Fish daughter of Poseidon wannabe meets human boy, likes boy, uses powers to become human. Father does not want daughter to become human because they are evil and pollute the world, father locks up daughter but she breaks free thanks to her hundreds of fish sisters. During the escape she causes the planet to flood, killing probably 80-90% of the world's population. Humanoid fish girl has zany adventures with boy, learns about life as a human, we learn that Fish girl's Goddess mother doesn't give a **** about humanity and proceeds to let the rest of the non-water based lifeforms suffer so that her daughter can have said zany adventures. Goddess finally gets bored and forces daughter to make a choice in order to put the world back to "normal". Daughter chooses to be a human, losing her world-killing powers in the process, everyone cheers, happy ending, entire plant still submerged under water, ***** Goddess still does nothing to fix it and swims off. Now-human daughter dies three days later because she forgot she can't breath underwater anymore.
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#2 Nov 28 2010 at 12:46 AM Rating: Decent
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It's been quite awhile since I saw the movie, but I didn't notice anything particular Biblical about it. The flood wasn't supposed to be an allusion to anything and even then great floods have been a part of a variety of cultures' narratives long before Christianity was conceived.

I also don't remember events occurring exactly as you described. I thought it was only a local flood, not global. I don't remember the town remaining submerged or Ponyo having any issues with with drowning after becoming human.
#3 Nov 28 2010 at 4:17 AM Rating: Good
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Allegory wrote:
I also don't remember events occurring exactly as you described.
Like at all.

I think you're reading too much into the whole thing, Shaow.
#4 Nov 28 2010 at 10:17 AM Rating: Good
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That the one where those two Disney brats did that horrible song? I think I had a nightmare about that last night.
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#5 Nov 28 2010 at 12:19 PM Rating: Good
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Allegory wrote:
I also don't remember events occurring exactly as you described. I thought it was only a local flood, not global. I don't remember the town remaining submerged or Ponyo having any issues with with drowning after becoming human.


I'm pretty sure the flood wasn't localized since an ocean-side cliff was submerged to the house's doorstep, and since when does the moon's gravity only effect one spot on the entire planet? That last bit was wishful thinking on my part.
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#6 Nov 28 2010 at 12:43 PM Rating: Good
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Shaowstrike the Shady wrote:
Allegory wrote:
I also don't remember events occurring exactly as you described. I thought it was only a local flood, not global. I don't remember the town remaining submerged or Ponyo having any issues with with drowning after becoming human.
I'm pretty sure the flood wasn't localized since an ocean-side cliff was submerged to the house's doorstep, and since when does the moon's gravity only effect one spot on the entire planet? That last bit was wishful thinking on my part.
If we forget for a moment that this is, for the most part, an animated movie targeted towards children that introduces a world where a man lives under the sea with his goldfish-child that has a giant glowing woman for a mother and that we're looking at this movie from a purely scientific view, it can easily be proven that there can't be a global-wide flood due to the Moon's gravity. You can't just suddenly create water out of thin air. This means that when there is flooding in Japan, another part of the world is seeing a recession in their water levels, negating the idea of global-wide flooding.
#7 Nov 28 2010 at 1:02 PM Rating: Good
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xypin wrote:
Shaowstrike the Shady wrote:
Allegory wrote:
I also don't remember events occurring exactly as you described. I thought it was only a local flood, not global. I don't remember the town remaining submerged or Ponyo having any issues with with drowning after becoming human.
I'm pretty sure the flood wasn't localized since an ocean-side cliff was submerged to the house's doorstep, and since when does the moon's gravity only effect one spot on the entire planet? That last bit was wishful thinking on my part.
If we forget for a moment that this is, for the most part, an animated movie targeted towards children that introduces a world where a man lives under the sea with his goldfish-child that has a giant glowing woman for a mother and that we're looking at this movie from a purely scientific view, it can easily be proven that there can't be a global-wide flood due to the Moon's gravity. You can't just suddenly create water out of thin air. This means that when there is flooding in Japan, another part of the world is seeing a recession in their water levels, negating the idea of global-wide flooding.


In the film itself you have the fish girl increasing the size of toy boats and candles without using anything other than magic, yet it's apparently impossible in that world to create water from nothing. Hell, her old man was creating jellyfish just by dropping some of his potion into the water.
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#8 Nov 28 2010 at 1:42 PM Rating: Good
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Shaowstrike the Shady wrote:
xypin wrote:
Shaowstrike the Shady wrote:
Allegory wrote:
I also don't remember events occurring exactly as you described. I thought it was only a local flood, not global. I don't remember the town remaining submerged or Ponyo having any issues with with drowning after becoming human.
I'm pretty sure the flood wasn't localized since an ocean-side cliff was submerged to the house's doorstep, and since when does the moon's gravity only effect one spot on the entire planet? That last bit was wishful thinking on my part.
If we forget for a moment that this is, for the most part, an animated movie targeted towards children that introduces a world where a man lives under the sea with his goldfish-child that has a giant glowing woman for a mother and that we're looking at this movie from a purely scientific view, it can easily be proven that there can't be a global-wide flood due to the Moon's gravity. You can't just suddenly create water out of thin air. This means that when there is flooding in Japan, another part of the world is seeing a recession in their water levels, negating the idea of global-wide flooding.
In the film itself you have the fish girl increasing the size of toy boats and candles without using anything other than magic, yet it's apparently impossible in that world to create water from nothing. Hell, her old man was creating jellyfish just by dropping some of his potion into the water.
If Ponyo can simply create water out of thin air, then what's to say the power doesn't exist for this to be a localized threat? I don't think the movie ever showed the UK or Flordia underwater.

That was really only a minor part of my point though... what I was really trying to say is you're over analyzing this movie waaaaaaay too much. It's a children's movie and in those kinds of movies, details are left out because a child will generally accept a world of magic and happy endings if things make some kind of sense in the end.

From what I remember, the world is simply restored to order just by Ponyo becoming human due to the proper balance of magic being returned. I'm not really sure where you even get this idea that the goddess is a *****... she saves Sosuke's father and a bunch of other sailors. Did you even notice that none of the people in that village died? Even the ones that couldn't escape were saved by Ponyo's parents.
#9 Nov 28 2010 at 2:01 PM Rating: Decent
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It's no fun to just watch a movie and not analyze it. Anyway who cares if she saved a few people, she had the power to return the entire ocean to the way it was before it got that bad. She even said she noticed the ocean changing yet she did nothing to correct it before it got out of hand. The other people were saved because the boy's mother was there and the Goddess didn't think Souske's mom would be in a talkative mood if the other drowned right in front of them. If Souske's mom was still at her house when Ponyo's mother arrived the people at the senior center would have to fend for themselves, just like the other villagers in the boats.
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#10 Nov 28 2010 at 5:44 PM Rating: Good
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Shaowstrike the Shady wrote:
It's no fun to just watch a movie and not analyze it.
True... but I think you're analyzing this movie in the wrong frame of mind with the wrong level of depth.

Unfortunately, I can't go any farther in the debate, as I don't remember all of the intricate details of the story and the universe. I don't think it was ever shown that the goddess was able to cancel out all of the problems. I only remember thinking that she was able to provide temporary help and unable to simply snap her fingers to restore the balance. Of course, it's been too long, so my interpretation of the movie is probably far from accurate.

If I had to criticize the movie though, it'd be because the laws that govern magic and power in that world was not very explicit. For instance, I never really understood why Ponyo was required to under go the test, only that the result would be restoring the balance of power.
#11 Nov 28 2010 at 6:17 PM Rating: Good
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xypin wrote:
I never really understood why Ponyo was required to under go the test, only that the result would be restoring the balance of power.


The best comparison I could think of was Jurassic Park. Dennis Nedry, aka Ponyo, managed to ***** up the system keeping the world in balance when she was covered with the master potion created for that task and became fully humanoid. Samuel L. Mother@#%^ing Jackson, aka Ponyo's Dad, couldn't figure out how to correct the problem. He decided that the best way was to reset the system, or in this case strip Ponyo of her magic powers that were boosted by the world balance potion. As I was typing this I forgot the way the rest of the analogy goes, but you get the idea.

Edited, Nov 29th 2010 5:53pm by Shaowstrike
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#12 Nov 28 2010 at 6:38 PM Rating: Good
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Shaowstrike the Shady wrote:
[quote=xypin]As I was typing this I forgot the way the rest of the analogy goes, but you get the idea.


I've had it with these mother@#%^ing fish on this mother@#%^ing land?

Edited, Nov 28th 2010 7:39pm by TirithRR
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#13 Nov 28 2010 at 7:34 PM Rating: Decent
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xypin wrote:
If I had to criticize the movie though, it'd be because the laws that govern magic and power in that world was not very explicit. For instance, I never really understood why Ponyo was required to under go the test, only that the result would be restoring the balance of power.

I think you have the wrong expectations about the movie. The movie is designed to be for children, and so it follows that magic would proceed from a child's understanding. The idea of passing a test to make or break spells is very common among children, and you can see it in Spirited Away as well with the "guess your parents" test at the end. Miyazaki has a very clear understanding of the way children think and act.
#14 Nov 29 2010 at 12:33 AM Rating: Good
Was it any good? This is the only Miyazaki flick I have yet to see.
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#15 Nov 29 2010 at 1:29 AM Rating: Decent
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Good enough to see. In my opinion at least average if not above average for a Miyazaki film.
#16 Nov 29 2010 at 8:53 AM Rating: Good
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I agree with Al. It wasn't his best, but it was well done and enjoyable nonetheless.
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#17 Nov 29 2010 at 9:40 AM Rating: Excellent
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Allegory wrote:
Good enough to see. In my opinion at least average if not above average for a Miyazaki film.


IMO, not as good as the others at all. It wasn't bad, but it was completely average for me. Worth it to Red Box, but I'm glad I didn't go and see it in theaters when it was out. The colors were bright and trippy, though.
#18 Nov 29 2010 at 9:49 AM Rating: Good
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Oh yeah, anyone that watched it recently want to confirm this for me? When the boy and fish-girl are standing in front of a tunnel entrance he says "I think I've been here before". Do you think this was a reference to the entrance to the spirit world from Spirited Away?
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#19 Nov 29 2010 at 9:51 AM Rating: Good
I loved Ponyo so much.
#20 Nov 29 2010 at 3:10 PM Rating: Excellent
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I loved the movie a lot, right up to the ending, which I thought was weak. Ponyo's test was way too short and easy. Basically I felt this movie was aimed at a much younger audience than a lot of other miyazaki films, even all the ones aimed at children. This was more aimed at 3-5 year olds than 8-10 year olds. While I did think the entire world was flooded, and prehistoric marine life resurrected, there was a strong sense with the scenes that all the humans were able to help each other escape in boats, and were fairly cheerful about it, coming together by shared adversity.

The glowing underwater world was very trippy and fun, I loved both Ponyo's mad environmentalist father and her glowing goddess mother. I think I'd like to watch it again someday, even with the weak ending.
#21 Nov 29 2010 at 4:47 PM Rating: Good
Aripyanfar wrote:
I loved the movie a lot, right up to the ending, which I thought was weak. Ponyo's test was way too short and easy. Basically I felt this movie was aimed at a much younger audience than a lot of other miyazaki films, even all the ones aimed at children. This was more aimed at 3-5 year olds than 8-10 year olds. While I did think the entire world was flooded, and prehistoric marine life resurrected, there was a strong sense with the scenes that all the humans were able to help each other escape in boats, and were fairly cheerful about it, coming together by shared adversity.

The glowing underwater world was very trippy and fun, I loved both Ponyo's mad environmentalist father and her glowing goddess mother. I think I'd like to watch it again someday, even with the weak ending.


Yes, all of this is what I meant by my five word post.

Also, I sort of got the feeling that the world wasn't realy flooded, it was all sort of a "dream," and no one would really remember any of it happening later. Though none of that was really communicated from what I can remember.
#22 Nov 29 2010 at 5:40 PM Rating: Good
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Sounds like something I should download (and add to my list of unwatched anime Smiley: glare).
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#23 Nov 30 2010 at 2:58 AM Rating: Good
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More or less what Ari said. Weak ending, but it had some excellent visuals and an overall decent flow to the story. I was not upset I paid to see it in the theater, and liked it so much I watched it again when it came out on DVD.
#24 Nov 30 2010 at 10:49 AM Rating: Good
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yeah, I'm glad I saw it in the cinema. For anyone who hasn't seen any Miyazaki films, you are totally missing out. Even if you don't like anima, Miyazaki's style is very much it's own thing and I think a lot of people who hate anime would like Miyazaki. A magical combination of East and Western styles, and a magical something else.

Many of them have a haunting, dream-like aspect or passages. Many of them are magical or mythical. I think some are stronger than others.

I particularly love Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle (even with the sappy ending music and dialogue with the evil witch). Secondly Princess Mononoke (love the forest scenes), and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds (gotta love that bobble-puff landscape). Kiki's Delivery Service is very cute and gave me a big smile.
#25 Dec 06 2010 at 3:08 AM Rating: Good
I really liked Ponyo too, but I've always had a special place in my heart for the story of the Little Mermaid, since I was about 6 years old when Disney released that movie and I grew up on it. My mom even dyed my hair red when I was 7 because I wanted to be like Ariel. >.> I thought it was a very cute movie, and I wasn't even that annoyed by the Disney brats' voices. I was horrified when I found out they were going to be doing the voices of the children, but it wasn't all that noticeable. It definitely wasn't as good as Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke, but I think it's at least as good or maybe better than Kiki's Delivery Service.
#26 Dec 06 2010 at 3:14 AM Rating: Decent
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Ponyo is definitely a film to go with subs on. The differences are quite noticeable.
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