It’s been interesting to watch the adoption of anime (aka “japanimation”) by the U.S.  Visionary anime writer/director Hayao Miyazaki’s work has been consistently at the center of this push, delivering an always-fascinating cast of cooing blobs and clacking forest creatures that blend without explanation with the world as we know it.  1997’s Princess Mononoke was the first to break slightly beyond the eccentric lovers of anime in the states (a very small group, largely composed of adult comic book collectors). 

Four years later, Miyazaki’s follow-up, Spirited Away, got more widespread attention.  It won Best Animated Film in 2003, but still stayed along the fray due to its requirement that audiences read the subtitles.  Sadly, the only subtitles most of the U.S. was will to read at the time were Mel Gibson’s ultra-violent portrayals of Jesus Christ...

And so, in 2004, Miyazaki catered to the english-speaking audience by making two versions (one English, one Japanese) of Howl’s Moving Castle - arguably his best film to date.  He employed recognizable names for the english-speaking cast, as mainstream audiences state-side require, and the film enjoyed moderate success in a mainstream release.  Again, he received an Oscar nod (Best Animated Film, in 2006), but lost to Wallace & Gromit.

Disney swooped in on the growing market segment, and now releases Miyazaki’s latest film - Ponyo - this time with an even more star-studded cast, and with an actual advertising budget to boot!  Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Betty White, Frankie Jonas and Noah Cyrus are amongst the cast intended to lure audiences in.  The film grossed $3.5 million in its opening weekend in the states, nearly ten times that of Howl’s Moving Castle.

The film itself isn’t as interesting as the cultural study of Miyazaki’s foray into western success.  It’s very sweet, and at its center, is a romance between two five year-old kids.  The world itself is, as always, visionary.  But unlike Miyazaki’s better works, the entire cast of characters here lack emotional and psychological depth.  Still, the kids in the audience were having a blast in the theater I went to.  It seems the Disney-fed generation doesn’t require Disney...