Ponyo is a stand-out example in Ghiblis canon due to the fact that she is one of the few characters that simultaneously displays the traits of a strong central protagonist and those of a cute incidental figure. Ponyo is a baby goldfish who falls in love with a child (Sosuke) and morphs into a young girl in order to be with him. The film is a beautifully rendered love story, told through the eyes of children and animals and generating an innocent outlook on the oft-repeated tale of The Little Mermaid. The other goldfish are wonderfully animated, with their anthropomorphic faces and dress-like bodies standing out as some of the most breathtaking characters in Ghiblis filmography. There is no doubt that Ponyo is cute in the traditional sense of the word, but she is also incredibly strong as a protagonist. She rejects the stern approach of her father in order to follow her heart, and she is ultimately rewarded - making decisions that are far more sensible than those of many adults in Miyazakis films. It would be easy to treat such young characters as infantile and careless, but Miyazaki instead captures the wonder of childhood and suggests there is real intelligence in a childs innocent worldview.
