The second and very much related reason, I think, is that he wished to make the human and fish characters more distinct and also equally emphasized. Ponyo wants to become a human in the very beginning or perhaps, more accurately, return to the way she was meant to be since her human father brought his family to the water. But that would not be valuable or worthwhile for her if she did not have someone on land that really cared about her. By giving as much emphasis on Sosuke’s characterization here (much more than the human man was explored in The Little Mermaid), he makes Ponyo’s transformation mean something a little more.
Miyazaki had announced in the past that he wanted to retire but his fascination with the closed worlds and thinking children create on their own always seems to bring him back. That was the case when he came out of retirement after making Princess Mononoke and got the inspiration from a 10-year-old girl for one of his best films, Spirited Away. Ponyo on the Cliff is not at that level or that of My Neighbor Totoro, I think, because it is not quite as reflectively profound and rich as those masterworks. It represents, however, Miyazaki’s coming full circle to his own sense of childhood youth figuratively and imaginatively and that leaves me hopeful that Miyazaki is still far from retiring.
Bottom line: Well worth seeeing.
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Article comments
1 - Dave J
A really self - explanatory review