REMINDER: Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo On The Cliff will be screening at the 65th Venice International Film Festival on August 31st (event listing). From all accounts so far of the film it seems Miyazaki explores new ground this time around with details so intricate and dense that anything less than seeing it on film on the big screen would be a crying shame. It even lead to a member of KineJapan wondering if even Blu-Ray would be able to represent its multitude of details and artistic touches. At the moment from everything I'm hearing, Summer 2009 would be the earliest Disney would release it in the US. Some additional images for Ponyo at the link below.

Synopsis:

This is the story of Ponyo, a little fish from the sea who struggles to realize her dream of living with a boy named Sosuke. It also tells of how five-year old Sosuke manages to keep a most solemn promise.

Ponyo On The Cliff places Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid in a contemporary Japanese setting. It is a tale of childhood love and adventure.

A little seaside town and a house at the top of a cliff. A small cast of characters. The ocean as a living presence. A world where magic and alchemy are accepted as part of the ordinary.

The sea below, like our subconscious mind, intersects with the wave-tossed surface above. By distorting normal space and contorting normal shapes, the sea is animated not as a backdrop to the story, but as one of its principal characters.

A little boy and a little girl, love and responsibility, the ocean and life - these things, and that which is most elemental to them, are depicted in the most basic way in Ponyo On The Cliff. This is my response to the afflictions and uncertainty of our times.

- Hayao Miyazaki