ponyo

This morning, I spied this slideshow on the Times Web site while working on an assignment for my students. I was reminded that I never posted about j’s first movie theatre experience, Ponyo. It was the end of summer, and it was oppressively hot and humid. We all needed some relief, and P had read good things about the movie, so we headed to the movie theatre on a whim, just hoping j would be able to sit still to watch it.

The feel of this film challenges our culture’s Disneyed expectations, and I imagine that’s why many wouldn’t like it (see the comments on this positive movie review in the Times)… but it was fantastic. All three of us truly enjoyed it. The scene picture here, in which the sea creature/little girl Ponyo is racing along on top of the waves, was magical and compelling. There was just something about this film for me.

j seemed thrilled to be there between his parents, digging into our popcorn and mesmerized by the film. The only time he made a sound was during a scene in which a mom is trying to console her baby. The baby looks up at Ponyo with a miserable expression, and j said “That baby is really grouchy.” (Later in the scene, the mom breastfeeds the baby. Yay!)

Anyway, if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.