A fish story

(Ok, it occurs to me that this isn't a very good review. But I'm really tired. Just go see it if you can. It's worth it for the opening sequence--but not the music in that scene--and the scene where she runs on the waves, which you can see online but it's way better in the theater.)

Took Dangerboy to see Ponyo yesterday. Hurry, quick, everyone go see this while it is still in theaters! It's so beautiful on the big screen, and the child characters are really cute too. It's a perfect escape from a muggy summer day: immersing yourself in crystal-clear ocean water teeming with life--the fact that the theater is air conditioned helps too! Your kids will like it; no scary parts, really. It's actually the Little Mermaid story, but with more interesting characters.
And more famous people do the voices, if you care about such things.

If you've never seen any Miyazaki films before, this is a pretty good introduction. I'm not a huge fan of anime (Japanimation) but I love this director's films; they're always filled with fabulous creatures and colors and places. A couple of caveats for all these movies: the plots do not conform to any pattern that you'll be used to; also, some of the music is a little too overblown for most American sensibilities. For instance, you may want to run screaming from the theater during the closing credits as Noah Cyrus chirps some hellish ditty about happy little Ponyo. But maybe that's just me.

If you like it, try Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. But those ones are a little scarier, FYI.