The Oscar nominees have been announced, now cinephiles everywhere have begun nitpicking amongst the nominations. Some will note those that should have and shouldn't have been nominated, but one almost criminal omission from the Best Animated Film category was the absence of PONYO, Hayao Miyazaki's latest work for Studio Ghibli.
In terms of filmmaking mastery, one can mention the name Miyazaki in the same breath as Spielberg or Scorsese. His works are beloved by animators, audiences, and critics around the world.
Pixar, America's premiere Animation Studio is known to hold his work above all else, so much so that its Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter (director of TOY STORY) himself persuaded Miyazaki to come promote the film in the US, and provided PONYO's distribution under Disney.
The film tells the tale of a young magical "fish-girl" who upon wandering near the shore winds up in the hands of a young boy. The lad, named Sōsuke, names the creature Ponyo and opts to take care of her. Having cut himself while rescuing her, his wound heals after Ponyo licks it, and soon enough she begins to develop human characteristics, such as a face and limbs.
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Meanwhile Ponyo's human father Fujimoto, a scientist-wizard who has lost faith in humanity, comes looking for her and takes her back to their briny domain. He forbids her to return to the surface believing that the world of man does nothing good. But Ponyo has fallen deep in puppy love for Sōsuke and is determined to return.
When she escapes to the surface, we learn what Fujimoto fears; that Ponyo's very mystical nature will cause an imbalance of worldly proportions if she is not returned to where she rightly belongs. Her mother Granmamare, the goddess of the sea, learns of this, but is more open to her daughter following her heart. She decides that Ponyo's fate will rest on Sōsuke's true feelings.
You can see how Miyazaki has reworked Hans Christian Andersen's tale to his own nature-themed sensibilities. But here, as it is with the rest of his work, his environmentalism never feels like a lecture. The worlds which he illustrates are their own pristine invitations, drawing a sense of tender awe and longing. Sōsuke's port home town of Tomonoura has never looked so unspoiled, so lively, and inviting. His drawings of the deep sea feel absent of danger, even magical.
If you thought that women were short changed in live-action films, its also the same in most animated fare. But that'll never happen in a Miyazaki film. For the last 20 years his films have been strongly feminist, all in the voices of young women or children. It's not just Ponyo whose presence fills the screen. The lives of mothers Lisa (Sōsuke's) and Granmamare (Ponyo's) are given strong focus as they both make key decisions which decide their children's fate. Even a bunch grandmas get their due here.
Speaking of which, I can't think of any director, in live-action or animation, who has such great insight into children as Miyazaki does. The way his kids talk, interact with each other, and are treated is so refreshing that any filmmaker, would do well to learn from him. Notice what Lisa does when she finds her son has lost his fish, the way schoolmates chat when something new comes around, or how Ponyo reacts when eating Ramen for the first time. You can't fake this kind of childlike naivety.
All of these things of this would be good enough for any film, yet we are also blessed with Miyazaki's boundless visual imagination. His creatures and creations are some of the most original in film, rivaled only by Guillermo Del Toro. Yes, the animation is in 2-D. So what? Was Optimus Prime more memorable in his shiny hyper-realistic gloss or as a hand-drawn autobot? Works of art are more likely to capture our reverence when it is a stylistic likeness rather than a realized fake, and in that sense Miyazaki's renderings are some of the most simple yet beautiful in all of animation. The sequence of Ponyo running through fish-like tsunami is a "Ride of the Valkyries" moment; unforgettable. Think about it. Somebody drew it.
With a Miyazaki film you won't be taught lesson, but you'll leave changed. You'll find characters that aren't merely cartoons. You'll find conflicts not confined to just good vs. evil (Even Fujimoto has good reasons to why he does what he does). You'll want to find some place a lot greener and a lot cleaner to live (or perhaps stay for a good rest). You'll see traditional animated craftsmanship and precision at its highest level. And you'll be thanking yourself for experiencing one of the few storytellers who dares to dream.
Why on earth wasn't PONYO nominated? Did Disney not campaign enough or was the Disney name a liability? Were audiences distracted by the stars who voiced it? Or did Academy voters feel this master had won already and that's enough for a foreigner? Hayao Miyazaki once again handcrafted a classic, in a style that Hollywood seems to have abandoned. That's a shame for what might be the best animated film of 2009, and yes, even Pixar might tell you that.
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Considering 4 out of 5 of this year's Best Animated Feature nominees AREN'T 3D CGI films, I don't think Ponyo not being 3D CGI has much to do with it not being nominated.
It's more like Ponyo wasn't on the same level as Spirited Away (in most critics opinions, though I'm in the minority who didn't care much for Spirited Away) and was up against the strongest field of animated films there's been since the category was created in 2001, including not just Pixar but also Wes Anderson's delightful Fantastic Mr. Fox, as well as Disney's return to 2D musical splendor with The Princess & the Frog, and the nifty-looking Coraline, all of which I'd have nominated over Ponyo (which I still did enjoy). I was surprised that Ponyo didn't slip in the fifth slot, but I haven't had a chance to The Secret of Kells yet so I don't have an opinion of its worthiness.
I was a little impatient during the second part, relaxed a little too much, but so many delicately beautiful images still remain in my head. The ethereal opening sequence with lush score by Joe Hisaishi(I bought CD immediately) captured my eyes so instantly that I regretted not to watch this animation in bigger screening room(I missed the chance by just one day) during that time.
I was also disappointed by Academy award nominee announcement. But not that much like you. At least, it's good to see they still respect other kinds of good animations besides digital animation. And imagine they nominated animations like "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."
P.S.
I have forgotten to tell this to you for long time. There is some technical problem in your review of "Wall-E". I can't see your You Tube clip and latter half of your writing. I think this is just problem of my computer because other visitors managed to leave comments.
I too was wondering why "Ponyo" wasn't nominated. It was one of my favorite movies of 2009-- and I'm not even an anime fan, had never even seen a Miyazaki film before. But the animation is so gorgeous, the characters so adorable, and in the weeks after I saw it I found I couldn't get it out of my head. You could perhaps say it wasn't nominated because it wasn't very widely seen, but then why did "The Secret of Kells" get the nomination? I guess I'll never understand the collective minds of the Academy.
Michael,
I like the way you appreciate the movies. You seem to derive a deep, simple pleasure from them in the way that someone might appreciate a sunrise or a pleasant wind.
Omer M
I find it odd that "The Secret of Kells," a movie that will be released in March 2010, won the nomination spot in place of "Ponyo" which was released in August 2009. Maybe it was a logistical loop, I'm not sure; regardless, I'm sure "The Secret of Kells" is a fantastic movie, and the trailer speaks wonders of its innovative animation style.
But back to "Ponyo." What happened? Truth be told I can only assume that the American public is still too much entrenched with animation being Disney's (and increasingly Pixar's and Dreamwork's) domains. One of the comments I heard regarding "Ponyo" when recommending my friend to see it was "Oh, it's Japanese? I thought it was Disney trying to do anime or something..." Frustrating as hell, I tell you.
American tradition is that animation is for kids. Oftentimes mixed up unfairly with cartoons, American animation has been traditionally spearheaded by Disney in their romp style of bubbly supporting characters and musical numbers. Smaller studios tried to compete (such as Don Bluth's "Fox Animation Studio" which created "Anastasia" in 1997) but ultimately, Disney reigned king – that is, until the advent of 3D animation shot forward with Pixar's "Toy Story" and Dreamwork's "Shrek."
So how did this affect "Ponyo" ? Historically, American animation has been considered "less serious and meaningful" than live-action features due to Disney's long-standing tradition of family-oriented ventures: their animated films, popular and indicative of American culture, infused with the majority of American's mind that animation was would never strive greater than family friendly films. Decades of the similar broadway, easy-smiling characters that were often part of stories diluted and/or refined from their original roots into happier, cheerier tails reinforced the American notion that "Disney-fying" was synonymous with baby-ing down the world, that it was the protective bubble of so many childhoods before life progressed forward.
Japanese animation, by contrast, has not been dominated by a single studio. It is a million, billion dollar enterprise in Japan, with numerous studios engaging in projects vastly different from other studios and so forth. Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli is a world-renown studio, yes, but it does not solely dominate the Japanese animation market. In Japan, animation is largely considered a medium, not a genre, and thus a form of art in which much care and thought goes into creating the studio's final product.
Here in lies the main difference between the success of "Ponyo" in Japan and lacking acknowledgement in the US: in the former, "Ponyo" is considered an artistic and meaningful endeavor, while in the latter it was generally considered as "another animated movie that's Japanese."
Another blow against "Ponyo" is America's current obsession with hyperactive, in-your-face CG movies and movie experiences in 3D. Already Pixar has the upper hand as being the premier CG studio, a animation style that has become more and more popular with subsequent years as demonstrated by other studios like Dreamworks ("Monsters vs. Aliens") and Blue Sky ("Ice Age"). Most CG studios, in their attempt to break bank at the box office, indulge in hyperactive, over the top styles that echo of A.D.D. – a style that is, unfortunately, quite popular for the average American family.
Then there's the issue of the 3D experience. "Up" is arguably much more vibrant and effective in its 2D format than the highly-advertised 3D experience (the style in which I did not watch for lack of interest); however, the hyped 3D experience advertising brought people to the theaters as it did for "Coraline" and "Avatar."
"Ponyo" was not only 2D animated but it also did not indulge in the campy effect of a unnecessary 3D experience. It was crafted thoughtfully, calmly with purposeful and reflective writing and visual presentation. Sousuke and Ponyo are naive but not stupid; they don't go out of their way to sass around their attitude around adults. The other adults characters like Lisa and Fujimoto are not condescending, knowing the limits of their perceptions and caring in their intentions.
These characteristics of "Ponyo" are exactly why a majority of American audiences could not sympathize with Miyazaki's latest masterpiece. Simply put, most Americans are used to cheeky kids, bumbling adults, and frenetic slapstick humor in animated movies that to watch a animated film that lacked those characteristics was foreign, strange, or "weird."
It's unfortunate that "Ponyo" was shafted from the Oscars, and I can only lay out possible reasons as to why the academy turned a blind eye. I can only hope with the advent of Pixar's diverse and masterful storytelling of Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, Brad Bird, Pete Docter, John Lasseter and other writers from Pixar and other studios will spearhead animation into a new light in the American public.
Ebert: Robert Tan of Taiwan has (legally) seen "Kells" and will be offering a review very soon in the Far Flung Correspondents section.
It can be found on the web, but I won't watch it that way. For one thing, it would be obvious I'd been a pirate. Also, it's wrong. Just sayin'...
I got the chance of watching Ponyo with my family. It was so beautiful and Miyazaki never fails to capture the essences of childhood. Many of us have long forgotten such feeling!
Miyazaki deserved an Oscar nominee for such an alluring film
To Q. Le
You nailed it when you say that in Japan, anime is a medium, not a genre. This allows so much flexibility and quality for whatever films are released in this manner.
But I am encouraged to see how American animation is moving in a more mature direction (albeit in small increments), thanks mainly to PIXAR. But American audiences have to do their part too, to see that animation is not just for kids or kiddie subjects.
Great commentary on your part.
The article didn't really give an answer to the question "Why wasn't PONYO nominated?" so grant me the privilege to provide one:
It's not a very good movie.
Or, at least, it doesn't live up to the Miyazaki standard of storytelling. It's a sumptuously animated movie, but the story is severely lacking. There are no stakes; no accounting for its strange events, even WITHIN the world it establishes; and the voice talent is awfully forgettable.
I am not a Miyazaki or even an animation purist, but I do care deeply about storytelling, and PONYO isn't in the same ballpark as SPIRITED AWAY. In fact, it's not even in the parking lot of the 7-11 down the street from the ballpark.
PRINCESS AND THE FROG lived up to the current Disney standard of animated films, so that got in.
FANTASTIC MR. FOX generally managed to enchant audiences and because it wasn't a failure for Wes Anderson, that got in.
SECRET OF KELLS I imagine was a favorite among the Academy because of the surprise factor, and that was championed in the voting.
CORALINE is in the same boat as FOX: It's a stop-motion achievement, and *finally* proved Henry Selick wasn't actually abandoned in Tim Burton's shadow.
UP is, well, Pixar. And sometimes that's all you need.
I love his movies like no others. The liberation Miyazaki gives to my female soul is beyond words, and very healing. When I saw young Nausicca flying in the wind with her butt-cheeks exposed -- not in any way to be "sexy" but simply because she was absolutely and fiercely free, beyond even a hint of being a sexual object -- wow-wee ! . . I realized I had never seen that done by any other artist. Miyazaki is in a class all by himself. He is above anybody's Oscars.
I saw Ponyo, and I saw Secret of Kells, and I think Oscar got it right. Ponyo is a lesser film; not one of Miyazaki's greats.
But if you're convinced that Ponyo deserved a nomination, let me ask simply: Which film would you have dropped?
I am actually quite glad that Ponyo was not nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, but for more reasons than it is not as good as "Spirited Away." All of Miyazaki's earlier movies had intriguing and engaging stories with dynamic characters faced with opposition that makes them grow and progress as characters. Ponyo has none of that, with very little conflict, no real antagonist, and a story that is bland, simple, and somewhat boring. The visuals are very good but highly cartoony, although I'm willing to forgive that because of the age and nature of the protagonists. Overall though, it is an inferior Miyazaki work and greatly below par when compared to the other animated movies to have come out this year, especially Coraline and Up.
Michael, I can't believe I haven't had the chance to see this film yet as I'm a huge fan of Miyazaki. He is everything you described. I have fond memories of seeing Totoru in Japan and there's a magic in the way he compels emotion through the simplest shapes and lines.
Great piece!
No no no no no. Her butt cheeks were never exposed! This is a topic that has been discussed to death!!! Her pants were simply flesh-colored and that's the end of it. I don't need to make a screenshot or video review to see it!
Hi Michael,
I copied the list below from the Golden Globe website and had Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs replaced by The Secret of Kells. These are all solid contenders in their own right:
Coraline
Laika, Inc.; Focus Features
Fantastic Mr. Fox
American Empirical Picture; Twentieth Century Fox
The Princess And The Frog
Walt Disney Pictures/Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Secret of Kells
Cartoon Saloon (Irish-French-Belgian collaboration); GKIDS
Up
Walt Disney Pictures/PIXAR Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
According to the link below, Ponyo was indeed submitted for Awards consideration. However, I sense that there may have been more than one reason that led to its outlisting; one of which, amongst possible considerations, is to give other studios deserved spotlights. If that were the case, then it is a pre-competition between Up, Princess and Ponyo.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-11-11/ponyo-astro-boy-submitted-for-oscar-nominations
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OMG, J_Brisby, what are you trying to imply? By virtue, Kells should win the Animation category. But you made it sound like Kells bumped Ponyo out of the list. It is true that both films draw upon mythology, but I don't think that is the reason for Ponyo's conspicuous absence from the list. More likely, it was the Princess' doing.
The criticism that PONYO isn't as good as his previous works is well known among anime enthusiasts. It lacks the moral complexity and tight plot that Miyazaki is known for. But we're talking about a nomination for Best Animated Film of the year, not Best Miyazaki Film. And based on that criteria, PONYO is clearly one of the year's best.
I have seen all of the year's nominees, including THE SECRET OF KELLS, which is a wonderful revelation, a film of radiant stylistic flourish, and brave contemplation (dealing with nuanced and sometimes dark themes) compared to its American contemporaries. It is an inspired choice, and an obvious one if one has seen the animation field this past year.
If there had to be one current nominee I would leave off, it would be THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. It does a decent job with its goals, but for me they aren't anywhere as deeply felt or visually creative as what exists in PONYO.
And speaking of goals, all of Miyazaki's critics who pile on what PONYO obviously lacks, are stating the obvious. He based his film on a children's book (http://www.ghibliworld.com/miyazaki_ponyo_US_visit_july_2009.html) and made it specifically for very young children (http://j.mp/9x8JL5).
Miyazaki: "Five-year-old children will be able to understand it, even if 50-year-olds can't."
I choose to judge PONYO by what it intends to do, not by what it did not.
It's disappointing to me that Ponyo is so often considered 'lesser Miyazaki.' It's a thoughtful, beautiful and emotionally rich movie that portrays children honestly, in a way that is seldom seen in both animation and movies in general. It's hilarious. It's comfortable going at its own pace. It doesn't need an arbitrary villain.
I don't think the problem is that Miyazaki made a children's movie-- it's that he made a somewhat elliptical art movie. I would argue its own of his best films to date. I prefer it over not just all the Best Animated Picture nominees (I've seen all save The Secret of Kells), but all Best Pictures nominees (that I've seen) as well.
A great movie. I don't think I could recommend another film from 2009 more.
My nieces will be five years old this year, and every chance I get, I tell my mom (and my sister) to rent or get Ponyo On Demand for them, not only because it is a very good film (what gorgeous animation!), but because it was intended for their age group.
People who say Ponyo makes no sense say so because they are applying adult logic, not kid logic, to the story. To kids, the story makes perfect sense. So, even though I loved Spirited Away much more than Ponyo, I know that's partly because Spirited Away was geared more towards me than Ponyo was. And if we still truly think that animated movies are for kids, they why not honor the most kid-centric animated feature to come out this year with an Oscar nod?
Just a quick note from an Irishman in defence of The Secret of Kells. This film was released in Ireland and parts of Europe in early parts of last year - hence its nomination in this round of Academy Awards rather than next year's. It didn't perform spectacularly at the box office, but was adored by critics who saw it.
The animation is some of the most beautiful I've ever seen, based largely on the style of drawing seen in tapestries and the like, and the story is the combination of folk tale and Christianity you (as far as I'm aware) only get in the Irish tradition.
It's a little sad for me, as it would, I think, be a shoe-in for best animation in a regular year, but up against Coraline and Up (I haven't yet seen the other two nominations, nor Ponyo - but hey, at least now you in the US can see what it's like to be left waiting for a film for no good reason), I can't see it winning.
Why wasn't it nominated? because it isn't very good. I will argue that some of the sequences in the film are some of Miyazaki's best work but it is probably his weakest film. I've seen the film six or seven times in Japanese and once in English and the film never clicked with me. (Nor with anyone else I know.)
There is this huge feeling in the animation community that anything Miyazaki does is instantly golden. I have yet to understand this feeling since no one hits one out of the box every time. I mean think about it Spielberg has missed frequently so has Scorsese, Hitchcock, John Ford, or any other director. No one makes an award worthy film every time. Sometime people do lesser work.
Is it a bad film? No. Its not. Its actually better than Princess and the Frog and Coraline, and maybe following that logic it was probably deserves the nomination, however I think Mary and Max was the best animated film of the year and that wasn't nominated.
Although I have seen only scenes of Ponyo, I would argue that it's as good a Miyzaki work as any. Although it's mainly about children and the environment, I feel that in its treatment of life it reflects also mortality. I think the implied near-end of the director's career and the old people in this movie are not the only reasons why I feel that way. It's rather somewhere implied in the emotions of the scenes themselves, no matter how optimistic and happy they may be (or in a way because of it). In this resonance the animation goes way beyond mere "sumptuousness and beauty", which is why I find most criticisms of illogical elements, simplicity and so on not very relevant.
This is not to argue that Ponyo needs to be awarded with the Oscar over the other movies, in case they are not so "resonant" and moving, it's rather to defend the movie as the artist's work. He does what he does exceptionally well.
Never seen ponyo, the only one I've seen is kiki's. And that was a while ago. It was long and boring to me, but then again, I was younger. I remember when spirited away won that one year. I think I was in third or second grade, anyway, I remember being upset. But, I had never seen the movie. Out of the new nominees for best animated film, I had only seen corialine and up. Which both were wonderful to me. And I'm guessing sence up is also nominated for best picture (which it will probibly not win), it seems odvious to me that it's going to win best animated.
I finally got to see Ponyo on TV last week, and it was one of the worst Miyazaki movies I've ever seen. I've hated most of what he's produced after Princess Mononoke, but this just irritated the heck out of me. yes, it is animated by hand, and that's fantastic. I applaud Miyazaki's artistic efforts, but his storytelling is a joke. He's said in recent interviews that he wants people to think like a child when they watch his movies, but does he really expect me to turn my brain off entirely? Kiki's Delivery Service was an enchanted movie, as was Laputa, Porco Rosso, and Grave of the Fireflies. I was moved, and there was actual character development and storytelling at work.
But this movie didn't even make sense! At all! Ever! Why is Ponyo only half human AFTER licking Sosuke's blood? If her dad is a human, doesn't that automatically make her half-human?? The solution to the conflict of the moon coming too close to the earth (because someone should have just spanked Ponyo when she was misbehaving with her magic) was so anticlimactic... there was no personal struggle. Characters went from point A to point B like they were riding a moving sidewalk. "We`re here now! And I didn't even have to try!"
God bless the Academy for realizing this movie is not Oscar worthy. They failed me on Spirited Away, but I guess they've realized that Miyazaki is due for retirement. I have nothing but respect for the man, but his last three movies have left me scratching my head, counting plot holes, and wanting a refund.
Look, I loved Ponyo, and I certainly think it deserved an Oscar nomination, but just look at the other nominees. It's not like it was being passed up for Ice Age 3 or Monsters vs. Aliens. I may have been a bit disappointed by The Princess and the Frog, but it certainly wasn't a disaster. Miyazaki has been honored before, and he likely will be again should he continue to make films, but I'm just as glad to see something like The Secret of Kells get a nomination and the kind of attention it would never achieve otherwise (assuming it isn't awful of course, I haven't seen it yet).
And Q Le, your cliched and overwrought complaints about the evils of the American animation industry and filmgoing audiences may be valid in many ways, but they have absolutely nothing to do with Ponyo not getting a nomination from the Academy. You complain about how all them stupid Americans prefer Monsters vs. Aliens, but in case you didn't notice, it wasn't nominated. Ice Age 3 wasn't nominated. The nominees for Best Animated Feature are chosen by only a small percentage of the entire Academy, members of the animation branch who have attended screenings of at least 80% of the eligible films. Are those elite animators all members of the evil and stupid American public, as you seem to think and rant about? Or did they just think that MAYBE Ponyo was lesser Miyazaki, MAYBE that The Secret of Kells was actually better, and MAYBE that even if The Princess and the Frog wasn't a superior film, they wanted to reward Disney's return to traditional animation? Just maybe.
Finally, I'd like to point out that for what it's worth, in North America Ponyo was Miyazaki's most successful film to date. No, it'll never make as much as other movies marketed to films like G-Force, even if it had the same promotion budget and wide release. But take heart that when I left the theater showing Ponyo, I overheard one kid say to his parents, "Wow, that was way better than G-Force!" Stuff like G-Force will be forgotten in a year, but kids will be watching Miyazaki for a long, long time.
I, too, was disappointed by the lack of "Ponyo", though I'm sure Kells is very good.
I would have nominated the Zemeckis "A Christmas Carol", too, but I knew the Academy would not due to their inherit bias against Performance Capture.
"It lacks the moral complexity and tight plot that Miyazaki is known for."
Is that what Miyazaki is known for? Most of his films, save a few- Laputa for instance, are plotted pretty loosely. Even Spirited Away, what most would call his masterpiece, takes its time and allows for flourishes and odd scenes that contribute little to the main plot, but are invaluable to the beauty of the film overall.
I think moral ambiguity is key in a few of his films (most notably Princess Mononoke), but I think Miyazaki was going for emotional richness in Ponyo and I don't think it is any worse for it. The visuals in the film seem to always match the wonder (or excitement or sadness) of the young characters. I got such a visceral rush from it! It's aimed at kids, yeah, but the visual poetry sometimes felt on the level of Kiarostami or Wong Kar-wai.
Of course, we both enjoyed the movie, so I am sorry to knit-pick.
Yeah man, I don't get how Princess and the Frog gets nominated over this. I just saw Princess and the Frog, and I liked it a lot, but not as much as Ponyo. Princess and the Frog's best part was Randy Newman! If Ponyo had Randy Newman it would be the top film of the decade. Ponyo and Up were the top 2 to me, though I haven't seen Fantastic Mr. Fox. Oh well.
Wait, I'm not gonna give up that easily. This is stupid. Did the Academy WATCH the film? If they had--on a big screen--they would've loved it. I'm right and you're right, Roger, and the Academy is wrong. It's that simple. I can't wait for them to pick Shrek 4 over something more deserving.
Ponyo was robbed. That's as simply as I can put it.
I grow tired of people saying it's one of Miyazaki's weaker films. Howl's Moving Castle was one of Miyazaki's weaker films, and it was still a great film in its own right.
But Ponyo has all of the artistic depth of Miyazaki's other films, just in a different kind of way. Both Ponyo and Sosuke are both amongst the most realistic depictions of children I can think of in any film from the past decade (I may have to change that to decades). It has its environmental theme of course, but I think even more than that, it is a film about childhood and love for family. And what could be more poetic than that?
It's sad that there are people who fail (refuse?) to see how wonderful of a film Ponyo is.
The princess and the frog. it was totally lame
Regarding the insightful comments that Q. Le gave, anime will be a medium that the American audience perhaps will never understand. Or the majority of the adults. They think something that's in 2d-animation is perfectly fine for their children to watch. Let's take Haibane Renmei as an example. At first glance, it looks like a harmless show featuring girls with small wings and halos over their heads.
http://tinypic.com/r/vrwndf/6
Perfectly harmless right? The show does not have violence, however, it's intended for young adults for its mature themes (sacrifice, suicide, redemption). It's a journey where you follow these girls evolve, confront their fears, and most of all, their personal issues. Because there is no rush, you grow to love these characters and in the end, you're left satisfied, albeit nostalgic.
The same applies Miyazaki films. They throw you into these magnificent worlds that you hate to walk away from the theater when the story ends. I watched Princess & The Frog. Between that movie and Ponyo, the latter wins easily. It's simplistic yet it's a world that you want to revisit again and again. It captivate you. Even if the entire world says it wasn't Miyazaki's best, so what? I enjoyed it. That's all that matters to me.
Also, I stumbled on a small little video the other day. I hope that on your free time you'll take a look at it. It's only 10 minutes long. Hopefully you'll like it. =)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ91WUzvt0U