Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

Ponyo and Totoro are the sweetest Ghibli films, occasionally to the point of being cloying.  They follow the largely innane adventures of two very young children in a world that on some level resembles our own, but is at the same time seamlessly magical.

Catbusses and Prehistoric fish have never been filled with more imagination.  To compliment the wonder and awe of these sequences, the films are grounded by genuine portrayals of young children, emotional fragility, forthright innoncence, rampant curiousity and all.

These two movies are Miyazaki's movies that are most squarely in the "children's movie" arena, and thus have the most simple stories. This isn't necessarily a bad thing--both are wonderful films, filled with gorgeous visuals, Ghibli charm and Miyazaki's strengths as a director. In particular, if a kid you know likes one movie, the other will probably be really enjoyable to them, too.

My Neighbour Totoro and Ponyo are the two Ghiblis primarily aimed at young children. Apart from sharing stylistic elements, both being Miyazaki work, they both try to provoke a sense of wonder in the audience, and exude charm. In both, the animation is superb, and although Ponyo's is (stylistically) less detailed, the two share the assiduous attention to detail characteristic of Miyazaki.

At one point in Ponyo, the mother sings a piece from Totoro's opening theme. It struck me that the mother may have well grown up with that film, but more obviously it was a connection between the this and the film Ponyo most strikingly resembles in Miyazaki's work. Both are charming, innocent, wonderful films about exuberant curiosity imagination of the young. Their plucky and memorable young girls are rather likeable characters, and the chidlike fantasies and creatures conjoured up are incredibly inventive. If searching for another film of this ilk, you can't do better than this.

Ponyo and Totoro are basically the same thing. Small children have various adventures in their small town. They're each pretty slow, and beloved by everyone but me. The creatures in each are what save the movies. Totoro, the Catbus(^_^), and the various fishes are awesome and charming. If you liked one, you'd definitely like the other.

If you adore Miyazaki's fantastical and child-like films then you will like both My Neighbour Totoro and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Both are incredibly charming stories with adorable lead characters and a nice sense of escapism in the real world. Both are well worth a look, particularly if you like the Studio Ghibli works.

Both of these are among Miyazaki's more charming and innocent films, with comparatively little drama. Each also have a little girl gifted with magical powers, which play a key role in how the plot - such as it is - chooses to unfold.

A peculiar and cartoonish fantasy world interacts with the modern world, and does that fantasy world critique man's industrialisation? Pom Poko quite a bit; Ponyo references it but does not build on it as much. With their gorgeous Ghibli background art and fluid animation, both of these films are rather complimentary.