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Gorgeous New Photos from Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo!

by Alex Billington
May 5, 2009
Source: DVD-Forum.at

An absolutely gorgeous new batch of photos from Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff were just posted on DVD-Forum this week. Disney will be bringing this film to theaters in the US in August with an impressive English voiceover cast. Last week we featured the official poster. We've also received word that the official trailer will hit around the July 4th weekend, so look for it then. If you're a bit confused by what's going on in all of these, don't worry, you're not alone, as I have no clue either. All I know is that I love Miyazaki's work and I can't wait to see this later in the year. Check out all of the wonderful photos below.

An animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human. You can check out an old Japanese teaser trailer right here if interested.

Ponyo on the Cliff is both written and directed by master animator Hayao Miyazaki, of Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle previously. The film was animated at the legendary Studio Ghibli. This was released in Japan last summer and was a huge hit at the box office. Disney is bringing Ponyo on the Cliff, now known as just Ponyo, to theaters on August 14th.

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Related categories: Hype, Indies, Photos

L

Sometimes, its pretty hard realizing what is going on in a MIyazaki film, while you are watching it. You are right, though. These photo do look gorgeous, especially for hand drawn cells. You just don't see that kind of work being put into animation anymore.
Nate

Excellence. I'll finally get to see A Miyazaki film in Theaters. What a privilege.
zetsu

i like my anime a bit more darker than this(naruto shippudden,deathnote,full metal alchemist,gantz)but i must say the studio ghibli stuff makes a nice change.(my neighbour totoro,spirited away & howl's moving castle are classic's & have some great fucked up trippy bits that i just love.)
perry

am i the only one who thinks that a fish with the face of a child is creepy?
shellghost

that's cause your'e a pu$$y.!! Hayao RULES.!
PJ H

@ 2 I agree with you completely! I would KILL to see Mononoke in theaters.
Richard

I don't get it, never will.
Movieraider321

it def seems the most kiddish out of the movies, I dunno whether or not I will see it in theaters or wait for dvd.
Timothy

I love Miyazaki but he's been sort off lately. Howls Moving Castle was possibly his best in terms of animation but, in typical Miyazaki style, the plot was a mess. I love these pictures though, I keep on coming back to look at the post cause they're just so well done. I'll see it in theaters no matter what though. I like Princess Mononoke best because it has a fairly coherent (also amazing) plot and is also incredibly epic.
Movieraider321

9, Howl's was probably in my top 3 fav by Miyazaki. It was a really different film than what he did, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Lisa

I don't know why everyone thinks Princess Mononoke is his best. I don't think it's his worst but I feel like his movies are more heartfelt and cute like Ponyo. I always laugh when people say they're Miyazaki fans, but don't understand his movies or what the majority of his movies are like. They get all bummed out when they find out he makes movies like, My Neighbor Totoro and Castle in the Sky They expect more Mononoke-type movies from him, it's his style and he does things at his own pace, I'd hate his movies if they were all like Mononoke or Nausicaa. But I've heard both sides some people don't like his movies that aren't cute and sweet and some hate his movies that aren't serious and filled with action or blood. I'm a real Miyazaki fan I like everything he makes, he is really talented, I seriously considered all anime to be a mindless type of animation. But when I saw his films I realized for all anime that it's a medium or genre just like any other film or art form.
Squiggly

@ Lisa: I agree, but on the other hand, I think the best thing about Ghibli is the fact that the other directors have made entirely different types of films. You don't see that too often in studios. Pixar makes kids movies with lots of humor and melodrama. All of them are like that. Some have more action, some have more slapstick, but all their films are like that. Ghibli makes those types of films, makes more serious films like Nausicaa or Mononoke, more realistic (and sometimes extremely dark) films like Only Yesterday or Whispers of the Heart. Grave of the Fireflies is a perfect example of a Ghibli film that NO studio here would even consider making. I applaud them for that more than anything else. I often wish people would check out more of the OTHER Ghibli films and stop obsessing over Miyazaki's stuff. He's a great filmmaker but Issao Takahata is equally great. I actually prefer his films to Miyazaki's, but that's just a personal preference. All of their works are magnificent, and I would love to see something like Whispers of the Heart or Only Yesterday released in the theaters here. I think US audiences need to see that animation doesn't have to involve charming magical fantasy worlds or strange juxtapositions... you can make anything into an animated film. The Ghibli films, and a number of other studios, have proven that time and time again, yet we never get these films released in theaters here. It's a damn shame, and a sign of our own arrogance. Every other country releases foreign films as a regular practice, yet people here never get a chance to see any of them. The US needs to get it's head out of the sand and start getting involved culturally with the rest of the world.
George

12: I agree. I really love Whisper of the Heart and I wish there were more real world anime/anime series like it. There's only the odd sports drama like Slam Dunk and one other really cool old football/sports high school show I used to watch back in my early tweens when I still lived in Greece. I've never been able to find out what it's called though because the greek translation was completely of its title was different. Anyway, anime needs more real world stuff. I love the fantastical genres too, but sometimes you just want something a little more simple and niche, you know? I would REALLY SERIOUSLY RECOMMEND The Girl Who Leaped Through Time. Not a Ghibli movie, but a really movie that I think those of you who haven't heard of it will love.
Kylara

Ooh, thanks for the screencaps. The art looks gorgeous, though I will say the fish with human faces are.. special looking. Not like Spirited Away didn't scare me at times, though. @George: oh, my god, I cried buckets during The Girl Who Leaped Through Time. Exceptionally beautiful movie that would never ever ever be made here in a million years.
Timothy

@12 Ghibli made Grave of the Fireflies?!? That's one of those obscure movies I need, such a heartbreaking, wildly different animated film.
Lisa

@ squiggly I have seen Grave of the Fireflies it is one of my personal favorites, although I know of movies more harsh that the studios here would not tackle, Rail of the Star (another favorite of mine) is one. I never really found Only Yesterday or Whisper of the Heart to be dark. I felt it was Ghibli-esque, it was feel-good but peaceful at the same time, and it showed life in a simple, realistic fashion. I do however disagree that Isao is better I have tried to watch every Ghibli-made film, and I've seen most of Isao's work. I think the reason he hasn't become more popular is because his films tend to be very slow paced, I was greatly saddened when friends of mine watched Only Yesterday and felt it was quite boring, I thought it was a beautiful story but it may be too slow for some people. Also his film characters don't have distinctive personalities compared to Miyazaki's even though Pom Poko was very cute. And another,I would assume, is that Miyazaki is also widely known for the messages in his films. But I do wish people would see that Studio Ghibli makes awesome films. I'm glad somebody sees that as well!
http://home.earthlink.net/~ld-anime/ Leonard Dixon

Count me in as another major Ghibli fan! Here's a website that has a lot of info about all their films: http://www.nausicaa.net/wiki/Main_Page
Glass

Spare us the hellstorm Miyazaki has unleashed upon the animation world with those monstrosities he calls films. He seems to have two distinct morphs of movie, neither one very good. The first is usually just him babbling about why nature is always good and man is always evil as he forces us to hear his characters have at least one speech about how good a person they are because they defend nature. Yes, Hayao, we are destroying nature, yes we are polluting the environment, how about telling us something new? He's not making his audience think with these types of movies, he's just selling them a guilt trip. The second is his other equally bad but far less offensive movie type where a female character is just usually crying and/or doing chores or wandering around a fantasy environment like they're on the world's dullest sightseeing tour. Just look at them, Kiki, Chihiro, Sophie, they spend more than half the movie crying or doing chores, it's like he made the exact same movie at least three times and switched the setting slightly. Then he gets praised for using a “strong” female protagonist because she happens to look determined in one single scene while she cries and whines the rest of the time. Miyazaki is not being creative. He utilizes the same themes and character types in every movie with little to no variation. Everyone praises his works for looking pretty while being distracted from the utter lack of realistic or meaningful story or character.