Ponyo
Director: Hayao Miazaki Year: 2008 Ponyo is a surreal dream that magically transports willing viewers to a place of joy, fear and love. Beautifully hand-crafted animation is breathtakingly on display from master Director Hayao Miyazaki. The value of animation has been brought down in some circles because of the advent of technology, lowering the bar of access. Just because it can be done, however, doesn’t mean it can be done well as Miyazaki reminds us. The craft of story and imagination still have power, particularly when one as gifted as is at the helm and is playing in the realm of deep mythology. Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” is the source material here. Wonderful as Disney’s 1989 adaptation is, Miyazki takes the story in an entirely different direction. Sosuke (Frankie Jonas) is a five-year-old boy living in a seaside home with his mother, Lisa (Tina Fey) and father, Koichi (Matt Damon). Lisa works at a retirement home with a ca...