Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

| 2009 | 100min | G

Arguably the most summer-coded feature film from everyone’s favourite visionary animator/grouchy grandpa Hayao Miyazaki, Ponyo’s seaside fable of newfound friendship and coastal charm is as lively and heartwarming as its eponymous goldfish-girl protagonist. When Ponyo washes up on the shore of a small fishing village, five year-old Sōsuke is immediately enchanted and the two quickly become best friends. Welcomed into the home of Sōsuke and his mother Lisa, Ponyo finds herself yearning to become human, which has disastrous implications for both our world and the ocean world from which she came. Alongside Miyazaki’s characteristic gentleness, breathtaking world-building and sense of childlike wonder is an urgent plea for acceptance and environmental harmony that has only grown in resonance. This is the one to take your kids to!