Ponyo (Two-Disc Special Edition + Plush Toy)Welcome to a world where anything is possible! Academy Award winning director Hayao Miyazaki (2002, Best Animated Feature, Spirited Away) and legendary filmmaker John Lasseter together with Disney bring to life a heartwarming and imaginative telling of Hans Christian Andersen s classic fairy tale The Little Mermaid. A young boy named Sosuke rescues a goldfish named Ponyo, and they embark on a fantastic journey of friendship and discovery before Ponyo s father, a powerful sorcerer, forces her to return to her home in the sea. But Ponyo s desire to be human upsets the delicate balance of nature and triggers a gigantic storm. Only Ponyo s mother, a beautiful sea goddess, can restore nature s balance and make Ponyo s dreams come true. Ponyo will delight your family with its magnificent animation and timeless story.Ponyo confirms Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki’s reputation as one of the most imaginative filmmakers working today. Loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid,” Ponyo is a magical celebration of innocent love and the fragile beauty of the natural world. The daughter of the sea goddess Gran Mamare (voiced by Cate Blanchett) and the alchemist Fujimoto (Liam Neeson), Ponyo (Noah Cyrus) begins life as an adventurous little goldfish. Chafing at her father’s restrictions, she goes in search of adventure and meets Sosuke (Frankie Jonas), a good-natured 5-year-old who lives by the sea. Sosuke adopts Ponyo and quickly wins her heart. Fujimoto uses magic to bring her back, but Ponyo’s love for Sosuke proves stronger than his elixirs. She transforms herself into a human girl and returns to him during a spectacular storm at sea, but her metamorphosis upsets the balance of nature, precipitating a crisis only Gran Mamare can resolve. Ponyo contains fantastic moments that suggest dreams– and reassert the power of hand-drawn animation to create memorable fantasies: No effects-laden Hollywood feature can match the wonder of Ponyo running along the tops of crashing waves on her way back to Sosuke. Ponyo is closer in tone to My Neighbor Totoro than Spirited Away or Howl’s Moving Castle, and will appeal to audiences of all ages, including small children. The #1 film in Japan in 2008, Ponyo earned more than ¥14.9 billion (over US5 million) to become the 8th highest grossing film in Japanese history. (Rated G: A few scary moments, alcohol use) –Charles Solomon 
Rating:  List Price: $ 34.99 Price: $ 24.85 |
(out of 26 reviews)
Review by ChefStar for Ponyo (Two-Disc Special Edition + Plush Toy)
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A wonderful gift to your film library. I cannot add anything that hasn’t already been said about this amazing film.
I understand the frustration of not getting the toy but, I’m sure that Disney has done their homework. This film – geared toward the young (as mentioned by Miyazake in one of the reviews) – will sell to families.
Especially now, those families – most likely – aren’t upgrading to Blu-Ray and are sticking with their old DVD players until times get better. Me? Single and unemployed. For as much as I want the Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack to plan for the future, I will stick with the DVD until I have a good job under my belt and a few credit cards paid off.
I was at a Goodwill in Prescott, Arizona in September and spoke with a Mother that uses the VCR tapes donated as her library for her young daughter’s viewing. As a gauge, Walmart doesn’t even stock VCR’s anymore.
So – young son or daughter and a regular DVD player? That’s the market for the toy.
Review by Armando N. Roman for Ponyo (Two-Disc Special Edition + Plush Toy)
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As soon as my daughter saw Ponyo, she fell in love with it. She loves My Neighbor Totoro, The Cat Returns, Spirited Away and Kiki’s Delivery Service, so this was pretty much a safe bet with her. Getting the movie’s already a good deal, but the plush Ponyo included here is of great quality, and easily beats any other Studio Ghibli plush I’ve seen [at least here in the US].
You can see right there in the stock picture how big Ponyo is since it’s right next to the dvd in the packaging. It’s made of a very soft, huggable material sure to comfort any child, and it’s super cute. The material is easy to clean if anything gets dirty, and the construction is very sturdy. Of course there will be some issues with a longer ‘skirt’ here and there (that’s quality control for you), but can you really turn away such a cute character even if it’s suffering from such a thing? The plush Ponyo alone runs for about the cost of this set on most sites, so getting it included with the movie is great. While I would’ve liked them to give the blu-ray the same treatment, it’s good to have on dvd since it’s beautiful to watch on either format. And hey, most parents don’t let 3 year olds handle ‘expensive’ movies, eh?
The dvd includes the usual special features that other Studio Ghibli dvds have- an interview with Miyazaki, a short featurette and a storyboard presentation of the entire movie. This is always a very important special feature for those interested in animation, or like to see the movie in a different format and seeing how it came together before the animators stepped in. And of course, the movie’s in Japanese and English with Japanese, English, Spanish and French subtitles.
If you or your child(ren) love Ponyo, this is a must. I wish Disney would’ve given the recent re-re-releases of Kiki’s Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro the same kind of gift set. Now I’m kinda jealous that my daughter has her own Ponyo. Maybe I need to order one more?
Review by J. Abarquez for Ponyo (Two-Disc Special Edition + Plush Toy)
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It’s very rare to see a DVD coupled with a plush toy like this, especially from a movie under the Disney banner. They like to keep those things separate so they can generate more income. But this gift set is perfect for Ponyo! After watching the film, how can you not pine for one of these Ponyo Plushies?!
You may want to be careful, however. The construction of the plushie may differ in quality. For example, mine has a shorter “skirt” than the one I saw at the store about a week after I recieved mine. But that’s a personal pet peeve and shouldn’t bother anyone that isn’t very nit-picky about their stuffed toys.
Now if only Disney did this with Totoro…
Review by Echo Nelson for Ponyo (Two-Disc Special Edition + Plush Toy)
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I bought this for my daughter and she loves it! The movie is fabulous! The price was good! And the little stuffed Ponyo was much bigger than I thought that it would be.
Review by Apex Mom for Ponyo (Two-Disc Special Edition + Plush Toy)
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My daughter was thrilled with the movie and plush. She has watched the movie a dozen times and sleeps with the plush every night. This is a great value and product.