Re: PONYO is Miyazaki's biggest hit in the U.S.
 

HAM!

http://www.amazon.com/Ponyo-Disc-Blu.../dp/B002ZTQVBQ

Re: PONYO is Miyazaki's biggest hit in the U.S.
 

Finally got around to watching this. Kinda underwhelmed. Definitely my least favorite of Miyazaki's catalog. I cant even put my finger on why either. Never really connected with any of the characters and the film didn't resonate with me at all.

Re: PONYO is Miyazaki's biggest hit in the U.S.
 

Saw it in theaters and recently watched it again on Blu-ray. Really liked it the first time, absolutely loved it the second time.

Re: PONYO is Miyazaki's biggest hit in the U.S.
 

Ditto. The protagonists in PONYO were way too young. I couldn't connect with them either. If you look at Miyazaki's other protagonists, even the youngest (Satsuki in TOTORO, Chihiro in SPIRITED AWAY) were old enough to have a plausible level of self-awareness and decision-making ability. In PONYO, the script was asking way too much of a five-year-old. How's a five-year-old supposed to commit to loving somebody? If his mother moves him to Tokyo, that's it, he's on to the next friend and he'll forget all about Ponyo. I just never bought the basic situation. And Miyazaki's constant cadre of doting old ladies started to wear on me. It just seemed forced to me. Esp. after the flood hits the town and everything's under water. I think they'd be a lot more worried about finding safe ground, shelter and clean food and water than about whether this little brat and a little fish girl get together. And once they realize she was the cause of it all, the adults in town would be more than a little angry, don't ya think?

But then I found UP to be completely full of shit, also.

Re: PONYO is Miyazaki's biggest hit in the U.S.
 

Ponyo would be a masterpiece if it were more akin to the first 10 minutes and more or less strictly orchestra music. But alas it wasn't and the goofy dialog for the silly plot started.