Miayazaki’s films can arguably be described as a bit too weird for American audiences to accept, lacking a clear, super-hero style main character and, instead focusing on normal people in not-so-normal circumstances. Most times he exudes a mood more than a clear, linear story in his films, though this may be one of the most linear of his productions (thanks to the film’s literary inspiration).

Some elements in Ponyo may not immediately endear older American viewers but the overall story will prove entertaining to its true target: very young viewers.

Handdrawn, 2D animation is an endangered art form. Most films are now made with computers and companies have a habit of releasing everything in 3D. Thankfully, Studio Ghibli is still doing things the old fashioned way. The company’s latest film, Ponyo, is among its most beautiful, and is a new adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.

Brunhilde is a little goldfish who lives under the sea with her father and sisters. All her life, she’s been stuck in and Fujimoto’s submarine, but she wants more out of life. She one day sets out to see what there is outside of the ocean she knows. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go too well and she ends up trapped in a bottle…