Ponyo
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: August 14, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
86
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Don't tell Walt Disney, but Hayao Miyazaki really holds the keys to the magic kingdom. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
There is a word to describe Ponyo, and that word is magical. This poetic, visually breathtaking work by the greatest of all animators has such deep charm that adults and children will both be touched. Read full review
100
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah Young
It is a work of great fantasy and charm that will delight children ages 3 to 100. Read full review
100
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Best of all, Ponyo never ceases to be a genuine odyssey in short pants. Read full review
100
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
It’s essentially a stroll through a fantastically detailed pastel world, in which the plot is little more than an excuse for Miyazaki to dive into a world teeming with colorful (and sometimes prehistoric) life. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
You'll be planning to see Ponyo twice before you've finished seeing it once. Five minutes into this magical film you'll be making lists of the individuals of every age you can expose to the very special mixture of fantasy and folklore, adventure and affection. Read full review
100
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
The latest masterwork from Hayao Miyazaki, places emphasis on the natural world, its tumults and fragility. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
One of Miyazaki's most kid-accessible movies, but still an unnerving film. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
A marvel. Read full review
90
VarietyRonnie Scheib
Though targeted at tots, Ponyo may appeal most to jaded adults thirsty for wondrous beauty and unpackaged innocence Read full review
90
Film ThreatMark Fulton
Imagination spills across the screen in a bold, undeniable presence. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoanne Kaufman
If the plot of Ponyo is small as a minnow, its themes--the relationship between parent and child, between the young and the elderly, between friends, between man and nature--are large and fully realized. Read full review
90
Washington PostDan Kois
Ponyo isn't Hayao Miyazaki's greatest film -- that would be a tall order in a 30-year feature career that includes the Oscar-winning "Spirited Away" -- but his beautiful, quirky fable has magic other children's movies can't touch. Read full review
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin Wilson
Traditional in the best sense. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
You watch a Miyazaki film with the pie-eyed, gape-mouthed awe of a child being read the most fantastic story and suddenly transported to places previously beyond the limits of imagination. It's quite a trip. Read full review
88
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Miyazaki creates fascinating, fluid and whimsical scenarios. Read full review
88
New York PostLou Lumenick
This environmentally themed, very loose version of Hans Christian Andersen's "Little Mermaid" is never going to be mistaken for Disney's musical of the same name. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Miyazaki works marvels. Sit back and behold. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
An entertaining and fascinating film. Read full review
80
Village VoiceScott Foundas
It's a movie for anyone who, like Miyazaki himself, can still happily commune with his inner five-year-old. Read full review
80
Screen RantZachary Moser
It's no less beautiful than anything Miyazaki's done before, and these softer illustrations, like sketches that were never refined, offer a dreamy world. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Liam Neeson has gravely splendid pipes as Ponyo’s father, a once-human wizard who lives underwater and despises humankind for polluting the planet. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Ponyo is another conceptually and thrilingly original masterstroke from an animator who long ago left Walt Disney in the dust. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
A movie loaded with strange delights. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Even by Miyazaki standards, Ponyo makes less narrative sense than it should, and the pat ending is a bit of a letdown. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Alan Niester
In short, it's very much a charming kids' film, created by a master of animation. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
My sense is that adults will be more taken with Ponyo than their offspring. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Compared to "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Kiki's Delivery Service," this is one of the anime master's weaker efforts. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Trippy in the right way, and wholly enchanting. Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
His (Miyazaki) stories, and often his character design, just leave me cold. I know I'm supposed to be magically transported by his fanciful tales and his whimsical grandiosity, but they make me listless. Read full review
More From This Movie

86 Critic Reviews

7.7 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL