Ponyo on the Cliff By the Sea By Hayao Miyazaki

The latest film from the veteran Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki was a major phenomenon in Japan. The long-awaited follow-up to Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle has already taken over 10 billion yen at the box office, which translates to over 8.43 million tickets sold in just over a month on release, promising a final figure which seems likely to break records by the end of its run. At the age of 68-year-old, Miyazaki still knows how to capture the hearts of the audience.

Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea is loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s " A Little Mermaid " , transposing the story to a gorgeously realised contemporary Japan and replacing the mermaid with a bolshy little goldfish who decides that she wants to be human after she is rescued by a five-year-old boy called Sosuke.

I am a big fan of Miyazaki and had watched all of his work. Though this is not my favourite as compared to his others work, nonetheless, it is still a pleasure to watch this animation.

Biography of Hayao Miyazaki

Below is a music video "On Your Mark" he did for Japan's pop duo Chage & Asko in 1995. The first time I saw this music video was at Chage & Aska's concert in Singapore. The played this during the interval. I wonder why Miyazaki didn't make it into a movie for the storyline seems good.