Back to trending
Ponyo

Ponyo

Animation · Fantasy · Family · 2008

When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.

Movie details

Ponyo

“Welcome to a world where anything is possible.”

2008 Animation · Fantasy · Family 1h 40m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.8 / 10

Community rating

When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Ponyo?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki's Delivery Service

Animation · 1989

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

Spirited Away

Spirited Away

Animation · 2001

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

A Tooth Fairy Tale

A Tooth Fairy Tale

Animation · 2025

Van, the brave son of a tooth fairy leader, meets the goblins girl Gemma on his first mission. Despite the myths about ancient disputes between fairies and goblins, they share common values. When the greedy Spider Queen threatens both tribes, they must work together.

Lu Over the Wall

Lu Over the Wall

Animation · 2017

In a small fishing village, a gloomy middle school student named Kai meets a mermaid named Lu.

Barbie in A Mermaid Tale

Barbie in A Mermaid Tale

Animation · 2010

Barbie stars as Merliah, a surfer who learns a shocking secret: she's a mermaid! She and her dolphin friend set out for an undersea adventure to rescue her mother, the queen of Oceana.

Crayon Shin-chan: Honeymoon Hurricane ~The Lost Hiroshi~

Crayon Shin-chan: Honeymoon Hurricane ~The Lost Hiroshi~

Animation · 2019

Hiroshi and Misae have never been to a honeymoon trip to a foreign country. One day, Misae discovered an inexpensive and family-friendly holiday package to Australia and the Nohara family decided to make it their first honeymoon vacation. Hiroshi gets kidnapped upon arrival to Australia, leaving Shinnosuke, Misae and others on a dangerous journey. It turns out that Hiroshi is the key to a secret treasure. The remaining members of the Nohara Family must rescue Hiroshi, while a mysterious masked man and treasure hunters from all over the world are after him. The struggle is among three different groups in this action-filled treasure hunting adventure.

Children of the Sea

Children of the Sea

Animation · 2019

Ruka is a young girl whose parents are separated and whose father works in an aquarium. When two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised in the sea by dugongs, are brought to the aquarium, Ruka feels drawn to them and begins to realize that she has the same sort of supernatural connection to the ocean that they do. Umi and Sora's special power seems to be connected to strange events that have been occurring more and more frequently, such as the appearance of sea creatures far from their home territory and the disappearance of aquarium animals around the world. However, the exact nature of the boys' power and of the abnormal events is unknown, and Ruka gets drawn into investigating the mystery that surrounds her new friends.

Crayon Shin-chan: Fast Asleep! The Great Assault on Dreamy World!

Crayon Shin-chan: Fast Asleep! The Great Assault on Dreamy World!

Adventure · 2016

One night, the Nohara family were enjoying a pleasant dream, when suddenly a big fish appeared in their dreams and ate them. The next morning, Hiroshi read in the newspaper that everybody in another town had the same nightmare as him, but it seemed to have ended. But Hiroshi also heard the same dream from Misae, Shinnosuke, Himawari and even Shiro. They were surprised and thought if the same thing is happening in Kasukabe too. In kindergarten, on telling others about his nightmare, Shinnosuke was surprised to know that everybody too had the same dream. Then a mysterious girl named Saki was transferred to Futaba Kindergarten and joined Shinnosuke's class. Everyone in the class, including the rather inactive Bo-chan, were all excited and happy on seeing her. But Saki had a cold attitude and didn't get along well.

My Little Pony: A New Generation

My Little Pony: A New Generation

Animation · 2021

Equestria's divided. But a bright-eyed hero believes Earth Ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns should be pals — and, hoof to heart, she’s determined to prove it.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Animation · 2023

Ruby Gillman, a sweet and awkward high school student, discovers she's a direct descendant of the warrior kraken queens. The kraken are sworn to protect the oceans of the world against the vain, power-hungry mermaids. Destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother, Ruby must use her newfound powers to protect those she loves most.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Hayao Miyazaki

Written by

Hayao Miyazaki

Yuria Kozuki

Yuria Kozuki

Ponyo (voice)

Hiroki Doi

Hiroki Doi

Sosuke (voice)

George Tokoro

George Tokoro

Fujimoto (voice)

Tomoko Yamaguchi

Tomoko Yamaguchi

Risa (voice)

Yuki Amami

Yuki Amami

Gran Mamare (voice)

Kazushige Nagashima

Kazushige Nagashima

Koichi (voice)

Akiko Yano

Akiko Yano

Ponyo's Sister (voice)

Court is in session

Put Ponyo on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.