Ponyo watch

Posted below is a new "Ponyo On A Cliff by the Sea" trailer, from the French-language release.

This is all hand-drawn, from director Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Those who have seen it describe it as “very similar to 'My Neighbor Totoro' in tone, with a simpler plot that focuses more on the emotions of the young protagonists than anything else, and the animation is gorgeous.”



As usual, Daniel Thomas MacInnes' "The Ghibli Blog: Conversations on Ghibli" provides the best coverage leading up to the U.S. release of the film (by Disney) on August 14, 2009 :

Ponyo stills, clips , and other coverage on The Ghibli Blog

The U.S. release is supervised and produced by Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter, Steve Alpert .

Making of Princess Mononoke - Hayao Miyazaki

An extensive documentary film (with English subtitles) on the making-of Hayao Miyazaki's animated film "Princess Mononoke" has been posted online .  This is an excellent overview of the making of a major animated film.  Watch it while you can.  Sometimes these things don't stay up for long :

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

By the way, did you know that Miyazaki's newest animated film "Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea"  is the most successful film in Japan for 2009, having already made ¥14.2 billion yen = $134.6 million dollars as of September 28, 2008 ? (that is in Japan alone) .  Ponyo is slated for release in North America in 2009 by the Walt Disney Co.