Ponyo: Alternate Ending

First off, I want to say that I love Hayao Miyazaki. He's quite possibly one of the best animated film directors of our times. Actually, I take that back. In my opinion, he IS the best animated film director of our times. His works are things that can be enjoyed by so many people of all ages. His are the films I would lay out for my kids for the whole family to enjoy and as my kids would be amazed by these movies, I too would very much enjoy these films as much as I did when I first saw them, full of mature themes without being completely inappropriate and even then, I think they're some of the better movies out there.

That said, one of his more recent films, Ponyo, is one that I'm a little iffy about placing high on my favorite movies and my main gripe with it is how the crisis within the movie is resolved. Now before I go any further, this isn't to say that Ponyo was bad by any means, but the ending of the movie just plain didn't sit right with me. To better explain this, I'm going to recap certain events in the movie, so spoilers ahead.

Throughout the film, the general 'End of the World' crisis is that because Ponyo disrupted the flow of nature (or something like that), the water level were rising at alarmingly fast rates. Because of this, within a short amount of time, the world would be engulfed in water. The whole 'crisis' aspect is really downplayed with everyone... really taken the whole end of the world pretty well, but I digress. The main obstacle is for Sosuke and Ponyo to find his mother in this situation. A noble act, but we eventually learn from Granmamare, Ponyo's mother, that in order for the world's balance to be restored, Sosuke must past a test, though the viewer themselves aren't let on to what this test is.

Fast forward towards the end of the movie, we notice that Ponyo's magical power, that is, the power that is keeping her more or less human, is fading and she is reverting back to her fish form. Eventually, Sosuke and Ponyo meet Granmamare, who proceeds with the test, which is described as from the Wiki:

“Granmamare asks Sōsuke if he can love Ponyo whether she is a fish or human. 

Sōsuke replies that he 'loves all the Ponyos.'”

And then bam! “The balance is restored!” What? That's your test? That's not a test. That's just asking a 5 year old child, who probably doesn't understand the gravity of what exactly is going on. And of course he's going to say he loves all the Ponyos, why wouldn't he? He's five! He'd probably say he'd love all the flowers and and bugs in the world if you asked him to promise. This doesn't remotely resemble a test and it's just sort of insulting to older audiences!

I know. I know. It's a kids movie and I shouldn't be critical on this particular fact, but dammit, it just feels so cashed in. Hence why I've made this little piece, to offer a alternate ending that might fit a little better without too much alteration. If you disagree with this, that's fine, this is just my thoughts on how the world ending crisis might be resolved.

So lets just take everything happening the exact same way it did happen up until Sosuke meets Granmamare and the 'test' is given. Instead of just asking a simple promise that a five-year old probably doesn't quite understand the weight of, lets try something a little more... painful. Not trying to be sadistic here, just hear me out.

Granmamare tells Sosuke that because of Ponyo's losing her power, her very life essence is being drained, and if she keeps on the land, she will die. Harsh, but hey, it makes sense, as over the last ten to fifteen minutes we see Ponyo slowly become more and more sluggish, losing precious energy and barely able to keep up with Sosuke. Lets then have Granmamare explain that the only way to save Ponyo is to let her return to the ocean.

Obviously, this would make Sosuke very sad, to have to give up something that he truly loves. Normally, a child of Sosuke's age might be very selfish and want to keep Ponyo no matter what, but Sosuke isn't selfish like that. Instead, albeit with great remorse, Sosuke would say that he would do anything to make sure Ponyo lived. It kind of goes back to the saying, “If you love something, let it go.” Upon admitting this and offering Ponyo, Granmamare would see the good in Ponyo's heart and determine that he has passed the test to show he truly loves Ponyo enough to let her go if it means she lives. Cue magical effect and maybe a cut to the water levels slowly beginning to return to normal and then “Balance is restored.” Everything else can proceed as it does and it just seems a bit more similar to an actual test.

That's really all that I would change. Note, despite this, I don't consider Ponyo a bad movie by any means. It's well-animated, gives a warm feeling inside, and makes you laugh. I just think the resolution is too simple. If you disagree, feel free to comment, I love to hear other people's ideas.

In other worlds, Go For It!