{"id":1296,"date":"2009-08-25T08:58:26","date_gmt":"2009-08-25T13:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=1296"},"modified":"2012-06-13T17:39:29","modified_gmt":"2012-06-13T22:39:29","slug":"adventurevault-at-the-movies-ponyo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=1296","title":{"rendered":"AdventureVault at
the Movies: Ponyo"},"content":{"rendered":"

We here at ItsAllTrue love toys, probably to an unhealthy extent sometimes, but that\u2019s not all we love. So, in an attempt to stretch our discussions more in lieu of the spirit of this website\u2019s name, I\u2019m going to step in for an ailing Mr. Rant and do a movie review today.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, jealousy of NoisyDvL\u2019s DCUC 5 pack drove me, literally, to head down to Arkansas to find my own. Although I was lucky enough to find two, neither of them were worth buying since both Luthors were scarred with marks on their heads, each in a different place, but still very visible. Empty handed, I wandered the local mall, searching for some other prize to make my trip worth it. Lo and behold, I discovered their theater was showing Ponyo.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In Japan, there is a wonderful animation company named Studio Ghibli. They\u2019ve made some of my favorite animated movies like Howl\u2019s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and The Cat Returns. They are basically the Disney of Japan. Disney, recognizing Studio Ghibli\u2019s popularity, bought the rights to translate and distribute Ghibli\u2019s movies worldwide. Now, on the surface this is a good thing. Before Disney became involved, most of what Studio Ghibli did was relegated to the Japanese audiences only and a few bootlegs that made their way around the way bootlegs do. Since Disney has become involved, Ghibli\u2019s movies are beginning to find a worldwide audience. The negative side to this is that Disney does not feel the Studio Ghibli films warrant a mass release in the United States. So instead of a mass release, like one of Disney\u2019s own films would receive, Ghibli films are only given limited runs with very little advertising to let people know they are out and around. I think they could perform better if given the chance, but I digress\u2026<\/p>\n

Mrs. Vault and I were truly excited to discover that the mall theater we were at was playing this movie, and immediately bought tickets for the next show. Over the next hour and a half (or so) we were entertained by another superb movie from Studio Ghibli.<\/p>\n

Without spoiling anything but the basics, the story is about a young boy, Sosuke, and his meeting with a magical sea creature, Ponyo. After Sosuke rescues Ponyo, and cares for her briefly, she is returned to the world of the ocean where her father wishes to keep her. Ponyo decides against this, wanting to become human instead. Adventure ensues. <\/p>\n

You wouldn\u2019t be wrong in thinking this sounds similar to a certain Disney mermaid. The basic idea is very similar, but Ponyo lacks the sinister and somewhat morbid overtones of that story. Instead, it explores the world in the eyes of children, where the most menacing things are simple unknowns, like what may be at the end of a dark tunnel. The theme of childhood and simplicity is also reflected in the background colorings of the entire film. Where not every straight line has to truly be straight, and the entire thing looks to be painted in color pencil or even crayon sometimes, and somehow they are able to pull it off without making it look cheap or messy.<\/p>\n

One other thing that never fails to amaze me with Studio Ghibli\u2019s creations is the ability they have to capture the tiny mundane details of real life and incorporate them in an interesting way. From simply watching a rainstorm in My Neighbor Totoro, to Ponyo\u2019s portrayal of fish as they wander around the screen doing their own thing, or the tiny crab eating specks of plankton as they come close. All of this happens on screen in the background, out of the spotlight, while the main characters go about their story.<\/p>\n

When we entered the theater, there were enough children, and adults, to make plenty of noise. Ten minutes into the movie, even the squirmy kids were paying attention quietly. This is the power of Ghibli\u2019s films. It has the same affect on my nieces, and very little calms them down also. These films animate amazing creatures, people, and places that no western company has come close to. When confronted with something so different yet amazing, there\u2019s nothing left to do but sit in silence and enjoy the new world they are exposing you to.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/disney.go.com\/disneypictures\/ponyo<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We here at ItsAllTrue love toys, probably to an unhealthy extent sometimes, but that\u2019s not all we love. So, in an attempt to stretch our discussions more in lieu of the spirit of this website\u2019s name, I\u2019m going to step in for an ailing Mr. Rant and do a movie review today. Over the weekend, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[34],"tags":[223,224],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-kU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3594,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=3594","url_meta":{"origin":1296,"position":0},"title":"ItsAllTrueReview: Dark Knight Harvey Dent (Movie Masters)","date":"January 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13527,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=13527","url_meta":{"origin":1296,"position":1},"title":"Vault Review: Captain America Captain Britain (New Excalibur)","date":"July 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"So let\u2019s take a break from the Mattycollector hullabaloo with another Captain America: The First Avenger review!\u00a0 It\u2019s day three of our Flags & Spandex week and we\u2019re going to make a jump over to the comic book side line with a look at Captain Britain in his New Excalibur\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/capb6.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21228,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21228","url_meta":{"origin":1296,"position":2},"title":"September Review Index Update & Top Reviews for September","date":"September 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Another month has come to a close here at IAT and that means it\u2019s time to update the Review Index with our September articles (& to update Battlegrip\u2019s Review Index too). In addition to the updates, I also thought it\u2019d be fun to look back and see what the top\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4668,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=4668","url_meta":{"origin":1296,"position":3},"title":"Manekochan @ the Movies: How to Train Your Dragon","date":"March 31, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, it\u2019s finally happened. I\u2019m writing a movie review for IAT. Those of you that have been hanging around on the forums know me, but I\u2019m mostly a behind-the-scenes member. This weekend, however, Vault and I wandered over to the local Cineplex to see How To Train Your Dragon. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "@ the Movies"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11827,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=11827","url_meta":{"origin":1296,"position":4},"title":"Transformers Review Generations Scourge","date":"February 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"You wouldn't know it from looking over our recent reviews, but I've bought a lot of the Generations TFs. I should probably get to reviewing those - some of them have been waiting for awhile, but I wanted to rush Scourge to the front of the line. I've always been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5268,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=5268","url_meta":{"origin":1296,"position":5},"title":"Vault Review: Lego #7789 Lotso\u2019s Dump Truck (Toy Story 3)","date":"May 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the week for Toy Story 3 toys. Don\u2019t believe me? Check your local Toys R Us. Judging from area reports, most TRU\u2019s got their initial shipments of Mattel and Lego toys for this upcoming movie. Sadly for my wallet, I was tempted by both. I have very mixed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lego"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1296"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1296"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19124,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1296\/revisions\/19124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}