"Ponyo" Film Review
Unlike a fish out of water. (Now on DVD) 3 1/2 Stars As featured in: The Ithacan Note: This is my very first professional film review ever (it's roughly 2 years old.) I've come a long way since then and hope to improve even more. “Ponyo,” the latest film from Academy-Award- winning director Hayao Miyazaki (“Spirited Away”), is a charming, family-friendly film. Packaged as an old-style animated movie, “Ponyo” uses the dying technique of traditional hand-drawn animation to tell its story. This process makes the film feel older than it is and adds a level of realism and humanity to the movie. The eccentric characters and larger-than-life story contribute to the magic of “Ponyo.” “Ponyo” isn’t meant to be a massive box- office hit like “Wall-E,” “Cars” or “Toy Story.” This is apparent, thanks to its less-than-stellar box-office take of about $3.5 million. Unlike most recent animated films, which are CGI-laden and full of beautiful high-definition imagery, “Ponyo’s” visual s...