Fridae

Animation director Hayao Miyazaki has become synonymous with the splendid creation of fantastical worlds filled with myth, magic and madness. From My Neighbour Totoro (1988) to Spirited Away (2001) to Howl's Moving Castle (2004), there seems to be no end to his wild and expansive imagination.

But with his new cartoon Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, we say: Proceed with caution. The main complaint we have against his latest work is that it seems tailored for very young children - say about 8- or 9-year olds. For the 100minutes of its running time, you may have to force yourself to return to a state of childhood and innocence before you can truly enjoy this little gem.

The story centers on Ponyo (Yuria Nara), a little goldfish with a face of a girl. Ponyo lives in the sea with her many sisters. Though she is happy, she longs to discover what life on land is like. So she leaves her home one day without her parents knowing, and finds herself rescued from shallow waters by a sweet-natured little boy, Sosuke (Hiroki Dori).

She becomes his pet and slowly starts to take on human characteristics. She learns to talk as humans do, and even develops an appetite for ham. However, Ponyo's formerly human father and sea-queen mother are worried for her and want to bring her home. It's up to Sosuke to stop them from taking his beloved Ponyo�

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea obviously draws its inspiration from the well-known tale of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. But director Hayao Miyazaki has upped the stakes with more enchanting, dreamlike imagery than Disney's last and very popular retelling of the fairytale in 1989. Rarely have ocean waves been so phantasmagorically rendered and reimagined than in this picture.

Beautifully drawn and charmingly told, Ponyo may either frustrate you with its childish flights of fancy, or bring back and delight the child in you.