Ponyo

Hayao Miyazaki’s latest animated adventure involves a little boy finding a fish named Ponyo—and a bunch of magic. I’m thinking this may have been better in its original Japanese version, before Disney dubbed it with English-speaking voices. The likes of Tina Fey, Liam Neeson and Lily Tomlin lend their vocals, and while they perform admirably, it’s still a little awkward. The movie offers plenty of visual delights, and I look forward to the DVD release, where I can hopefully watch it in its original state. Noah Lindsey Cyrus (sister of Miley) provides the vocals for Ponyo, and her voice is quite grating. Cloris Leachman, Betty White and Tomlin voice some elderly women, and they fare better. Still, the American voices don’t match the mouth movements, and it throws the pacing off.