It's A Big Responsibility: Ponyo

    Taking some kind of responsibility for someone you love is something most of us will have to face at some point in our lives. Some have to do this at a very young age, sometimes because they choose to, and sometimes because there is no other choice. Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo is a coming of age story, but I also found that many of the characters lives are shaped by the responsibilities they do, or don't, take on. Spoilers Ahead.

   

    Once upon a time, a young goldfish left her home and was found on shore by a young boy named Sosuke. After naming the goldfish Ponyo, Sosuke takes it upon himself to care for her. Ponyo in turn comes to love Sosuke very much, but is taken back to her home unwillingly by her father, Fujimoto, a wizard who cares for the ocean with potions and other magic. Ponyo is no ordinary goldfish however. She and her many younger sisters are daughters of Fujimoto and Granmamare, the ocean Goddess of Mercy. Because of this, Ponyo has natural and powerful magic abilities. After having licked human blood off a cut on Sosuke's thumb, Ponyo begins to change into a little human girl, and uses her magic to break free from her father to return to the surface and Sosuke. In so doing, Ponyo disturbs the natural order. In order to reverse it, Sosuke will be tried to see if he really loves and embraces Ponyo as she truly is. Will Sosuke's love be true and save the world? And will Ponyo become fully human?

   Criticism concerning Ponyo: After watching the film, one might wonder about Ponyo's own sense of responsibility. She is without a doubt a wild child, and throughout the movie she does a few things that could be considered irresponsible: She runs away from home, and because of her desire to become human, she ends up opening and flooding a sealed room with a magic well in her father's home, resulting in the well and the potions in it to overflow and throw off the balance of nature. This causes the ocean to revert to a state of the Devonian age with the appearance of sea creatures that were once extinct. But worst of all, the moon comes closer to Earth and makes the ocean rise, putting most of the land underwater and forcing everyone to seek shelter on high ground. Ponyo comes from parents who have a big and unusual burden. Fujimoto raises the daughters while he and Granmamare both look after the ocean.          

    Naturally, Fujimoto is deeply alarmed and troubled by what has happened. Ponyo's mother, however, does not seem troubled at all. Rather, she knows just what to do and is mindful of Ponyo's happiness. Giving up her magic was the only price Ponyo had to pay to be human, and is never chastised for all the trouble she caused everyone else by causing what could have potentially been a catastrophic event. This is all resolved within a day thanks to Sosuke, and it is never revealed that anyone was killed or injured in the time that all this occurred. To settle this particular kind of criticism, it is important to note that whether in the form of a fish or a human, Ponyo is still a child, and was no doubt doing what many strong willed and stubborn children would do. Even so, if Ponyo had been made to take some degree of responsibility, it could have been more character development and more of a learning experience for Ponyo, other than learning what her father warned her: "You can't be human and magic at the same time."

    Sosuke loved and took the adult responsibility of taking care of Ponyo in a very short time of knowing her, and we don't fully know why. Although he only knew her at the time as a fish, Sosuke suspected that Ponyo was magical. It wouldn't be surprising if almost any child would want to care for a potentially magical pet fish. Sosuke is different because he is a very precocious child and takes the job of keeping Ponyo safe very seriously. After Sosuke gets to know Ponyo in her human form, he declares that he "...loves all the Ponyos! It's a big responsibility, but I really love her!" So what we do know is that for whatever reason, Ponyo was special to Sosuke from the very start. 

Be sure to comment, share, and follow and come back for more of ETF!