Jisney

Having just seen Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film Ponyo, it bewilders me that his films aren’t more popular in the western world. While there is a devout cult following of Miyazaki, and his company Studio Ghibli, and I am one of them, they will never be nearly as big as Disney films are. When explaining what a Studio Ghibli film is, you inevitably have to use the phrase, “It’s the Japanese Disney”. I hate this phrase, but it’s the simplest explanation, and one that I will now dub Jisney. Jisney films are insanely popular in Japan, and the English versions are in fact produced by Disney, it’s an ever increasingly annoying uphill struggle to refrain from saying “It’s the Japanese Disney”.

They also pretty much share the same story structure, the protagonist goes through a journey of discovery, and becomes a better person at the end of it, usually pointing a finger at us, the audience for not being better people, the smug bastards. Take Ponyo, a retelling of the classic tale, The Little Mermaid. Other than the basic premise, that a girl who lives underwater, wants to live on land, Ponyo is very different to Disney’s take. Ponyo focuses on life above the sea, rather than under it, and doesn’t have a Caribbean lobster singing a song about it (not sure where I stand on that).

A young boy names Sosuke finds a strange looking fish, and names it Ponyo. Eventually Ponyo turns into a girl, and what we are shown is a far more innocent relationship than we see with Prince Eric and Ariel (dirty slut). While Ponyo may have elements that may be complex to a western audience, including a Lost-esque magic well, the heart of the story is much simpler than The Little Mermaid. Ponyo is all about the friendship between a boy and a girl, even the villain is a nice guy, and it’s just a plain old, old woman who is the least likeable here.

Ghibli films are essentially children’s films, and I feel serious contempt at myself for loving these films, just like I do for any adult who reads Harry Potter, “Oh it’s just magical!” I’m like one of those annoying cunts on that Disneyland advert. Despite the critical acclaim, and the Disneyfying, with all the A-List voices, it looks like these films will stay cult. People don’t like different. Most people won’t watch a film because it’s in black and white, or because it’s got subtitles, or even if it’s dubbed. You throw a Japanese animated film in their face, they will turn away and run. Different doesn’t have to mean bad, and in this case, it means better, and I could sit here for hours writing why.

Ponyo is Miyazaki and Ghibli at it’s most accessible, though no doubt Danny Dyer’s latest film Pimp will fare better commercially over here, so I guess any fans worried that they will lose their favourite films to a wider audience can sleep at night.