More "Ponyo" Trailers

We've got an additional two trailers for Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo." One bragging about the voice talent and the other one actually selling the film on it's own merits. And while it may be premature to say this, I think "Ponyo" may actually be a hit. It seems like Disney is finally getting behind this movie. With Miyazaki visiting the states, the 800 screen release, and for the first time Disney has made more then one trailer for a Miayazaki film and they don't totally suck. Who knows, but I think this is the perfect oportunity for the world to discover Miyzaki. Here's hoping they do.

"Ponyo" Trailer

Disney has finally graced us with the trailer for Hayao Miyazaki's latest film:

While it certainly is better then the Japanese one, I'm a little disapointed that they have so little faith in this film that they have to make it look like a second rate action film. Oh well. August 4th. Mark your calanders.

Poster For "Ponyo"

As we get nearer and nearer to the American release of Hayao Miyazaki's next masterpiece (which is bound to be a let down for fans of "Princess Mononoke"), Disney has graced us with a poster...

...which looks very nice. I like how they push the voice talent (though putting them in alphabetical order wielded some funny placements this time around). The MPAA has also given it a rating: G. So parents, make sure to take your kids to this. You can thank me later.

I've Been Waiting For This: 'Ponyo' Gets Dated

As mentioned above, this is the announcement I've been waiting for:

Walt Disney Pictures has announced the U.S. release date of Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, PONYO, a story inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale THE LITTLE MERMAID. Fans of the animation master will only have to wait until Aug. 14th to see what is already a hit in Japan.

The story of a young and overeager goldfish named Ponyo (voiced by Noah Cyrus) and her quest to become human. The voice cast includes Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, Betty White and Frankie Jonas as Sosuke, a young boy who befriends Ponyo.

Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall are producing the English-language dub with Steve Alpert. Exec producers are Miyazaki and John Lasseter, who also exec produced the English dubs of Miyazaki's SPIRITED AWAY and HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE.

The English screenplay was written by Melissa Mathison.

As you can read above Disney has dropped the overlong "Ponyo On A Cliff" title for the shorter "Ponyo." Maybe that will help and maybe it won't. It's hard to tell at this point. But good news is good news: "Ponyo" is coming to America!

"Coraline" Opens Big

Some of you may be worried that I'm jumping the gun a bit, but in my eyes "Coraline" has solidified it's status of being an early contender for the Best Animated Film Oscar for this year. The movie has opened to great reviews (88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.com) and good box office (close to $5 in it's first day). Considering we live in a world of computer animation and fart jokes, this is pretty impressive. I wrote about the project when I first heard about it, and despite being in a position where I'm supposed to be agnostic about a films prospects, I had a good feeling about this film. The combination of stop-motion master Henry Selleck and graphic novel genius Neil Gaiman sounded like a recepeit for instant magic. I haven't seen the film yet. I was supposed to see it last night but there was a problem and I couldn't go. Now that word-of-mouth is out on how good this film is I feel more mad that I didn't get to see it last night.

I also feel "Coraline" is the first horse in a race that hasn't been interesting in years. I love Pixar as much as the next person, but it's frustrating to see them win every year. Of course, the only reason this is the case is because the competition normally doesn't step up to the plate to offer any real competition ("Persepolis" aside). This year we have "Coraline," we have the Tim Burton produced "9," we have the latest from Hayao Miyazaki "Ponyo On A Cliff," we have Disney's return to traditional animation "The Princess and the Frog," etc, etc...let's just say that Pixar's "Up" has some serious competition this year. Which is a good thing. Far too long the animated feature race has been too predictable and boring. This year it looks like animation is going to come fully swinging as something to be taken seriously. And who knows: Maybe "Up" will even receive a Best Picture nomination.

Update 2-8-2009: Well the numbers are in, and "Coraline" opened at number 3 with about $16 million dollars in it's first weekend. It made more money then "The Pink Panther 2" (which many predicted to be the number 1 movie this week), and judging on good word-of-mouth this movie should do very well in the coming weeks.

What Happened To Ponyo?

Hey everyone, sorry about the lack of updates I've been...well, I've been in Japan. Enjoying a bit of the world. I enjoyed myself so much I'm looking into moving there for a period of time in a few years. But the real reason I bring this up is because while in Japan I had the good fortune to be able to catch Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, "Ponyo on a Cliff," in theaters...

...and considering this movie was considered by many people (myself included) to be "Wall•E's" biggest competition I felt it only fitting to comment on it. Now, as we found out a week ago this movie will not be elidgible for the Best Animated Feature category this year (most likely because the movie won't be released domestically until next year). However, this doesn't upset me too much. In fact, I think this is a good thing because while this movie is good, it was NOT going to beat "Wall•E" (unless, of course, the Academy votes for another movie just because Pixar wins too many awards these days)! Now I have to admit that my Japanese is not the best, but "Ponyo on a Cliff" was simplistic enough that I was able to follow it with little trouble. This film has more in common with "My Neighbor Totoro" then "Spirited Away." That basically means it's a movie made for small children.

This is not a bad thing though as Miyazaki makes some of the most magical and charming children's movies out there, and Ponyo is no different. With pure handdrawn animation (no computers), vibrant watercolors, and Joe Hisaishi's best score since "Princess Mononoke," "Ponyo on a Cliff" may be simple, but it's darn difficult not to be won in by it's charms. The fact that it's more of a charming film then an important film could have hurt it's Oscar chances this year, so it being in next years race will bode better for it's chances at a win. That said, is there any movie that can upset "Wall•E" at this point? Well, yes, now that I think about it. There are two in fact. The is "Waltz with Bashir"...

...which could win on the grounds that it's an important, adult oriented film. The Academy has yet to award an adult animation an Oscar in this category though, and the category is still looked at as, more or less, Best Family Feature. Which means the biggest competition "Wall•E" has at this point...

...is Disney's own "Bolt," which has won critics over and completely surprised the public. Here is a movie that is family friendly, looks to make a lot of money, and didn't look all that interesting until people actually watched it. It also has the advantage of being released by Disney who, despite pioneering animation in feature film, has yet to win an award in this category. This could be the make-up award from the Academy should Pixar fatique set in. Either way the animated category is looking the most competitive it's been since "Spirited Away" and "Lilo & Stitch" duked it out in 2002. Should be an interested year for animation come Oscar time.

My Friend Says Ponyo Was "Personal"

So I have a friend who is studying in Japan this year and he got to see Hayao Miyazaki's new hit "Ponyo on a Cliff" in a Japanese theater. This is cool because I feel that watching a Japanese movie in a Japanese theater would be a fun experience. He couldn't understand everything that was going on, but he did comment that it was a more personal film then his last couple. In fact, here's the part of his e-mail where he mentions the film:

The art style was very different and welcome - it looked like a large part of it had been done with coloured pencils, tho it's still recognisably a Ghibli film. It's not a very epic movie, like most of Miyazaki's previous works; it's more of a personal narrative like "Totoro" with fantasy added in. Oh, and the villain kind of reminds me of Howl. Good movie. I hope to see it again when subtitles are available!

Well, if it's still in theaters when I go to Japan this year I want to see it too. Oh, and I also can't wait to see Disney's dub of the movie early next year. I normally frown on dubs but Disney does theirs right.

The Dark (Animated) Horse

I've already predicted that Hayao Miyazaki's new film has the best chance of upsetting "Wall•E" at the Oscars this year, but I may have discovered a dark horse in the race:



An animated film from Neil Gaiman? Directed by "The Nightmare Before Christmas" director Henry Selick? This may be something to keep an eye out for. Maybe the animation companies are starting to get serious about this award.

Watch Out Wall•E: Here Comes Ponyo

Every year there is much debate about who will win what at the Oscars. Whether it be for actors, songs, or Best Picture, the debate goes on and on. One of the few categories that is pretty easy to properly predict every year is the Best Animated Film category. Not only is this award easy to predict because Pixar wins it most of the time, but also because there's rarely enough quality animated films to warrant getting nominated. Last year "Ratatouille" was a sure bet, and so far people are saying "Wall•E" is the sure winner.



I admit that I was one of the people who felt this way. I mean, once you see movies like "Space Chimps" and "Fly Me To The Moon" you don't exactly feel threatened by the so-called "competition." However I forgot about "Ponyo on the Cliff."



Now I have to admit something: I have no idea what this movie is about. Watching the trailer didn't help one bit (and it's not because of the language barrier). But it has something going for it: Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki is one of the few giants in animation. Like Akira Kurosawa, his films are universally popular and people will watch his movies just because he made them. The thing about the movie is that I'm not sure which year it will be elegable for the Oscars. Chances are Disney will give the film a limited theatrical release near the end of this year. Or they can hold off on it until next year. Either way it goes, this film is likely to be one of the front runners for the Oscar race, and can prove another surprise (Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" beat out the far more popular "Lilo & Stitch" for the gold).