Hayao Miyazaki is a filmmaker with an impressive repertoire. Having already created the highest-grossing film in Japanese history, and the first anime film ever to win an Oscar (2003’s Spirited Away), Ponyo is Miyazaki’s tenth release with Studio Ghibli, and another stellar example of his mastery of the animated medium.

Anime films have an undeserved reputation of being inaccessible, but the story of Ponyo is anything but. Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, Ponyo tells the tale of a young female fish, Ponyo, who, after a serendipitous venture onto land, falls in love with a boy named Sosuke and thereafter longs to be a human girl beside him. As this alone may suggest, Ponyo is less of a violent epic in the vein of Princess Mononoke, another of Miyazaki’s earlier works, and much more akin to Miyazaki’s comparatively more understated, child-led narratives, like My Neighbour Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service. The result is a film which is certain to find a place in the hearts of its younger audience but which, like those before it, is well-crafted enough not to be purely a children’s film.

One of the reasons for Miyazaki’s enormous success outside of the sole child market, and outside of Asia, is the atypical nature of his films when viewed through western eyes. These are not, unlike Disney, animated features with a clearly demarcated hero and villain. In fact, by the end of the film, there is usually no villain at all. These are also films in which it never quite seems that the happy ending is guaranteed. Long-time Miyazaki composer Joe Hisaishi’s faultless ability to deliver a healthy dose of orchestral tension adds to the sense that there’s actually something at stake here. In both of these senses, Ponyo does not break the Miyazaki mould, but rather affirms it, and it’s that characteristic non-patronising quality of the film that makes it all the more appealing.

This is also reflected in Miyazaki’s wonderful ability to colour the human interaction of his characters with such a pure sense of realism. Sosuke and his mother may be hand-drawn, but in his portrayal of their mother-son relationship, Miyazaki makes them no less convincing than if they had been depicted by actors in the flesh. Whilst children may marvel at the visual beauty of Ponyo and the heart-warming tale it weaves, the mature audience will be able to appreciate the dimensions of the characters portrayed. Yes, Lisa is a good mother to Sosuke and a strong, independent woman (Miyazaki’s always been a feminist), but she’s also a hypocrite in the advice she gives to her son and a bit of an absent parent too. Sosuke, on the other hand, is certainly wise beyond his years but, ultimately, is like every other five-year old child who cries for his mother when left alone. It’s this quality of realism that again makes Miyazaki’s work unlike anything by Disney, and which somehow makes the film’s fantastical elements all the more engaging, as they take place on a backdrop to which the audience can readily relate.

And visually, Ponyo’s backdrop is utterly beautiful. An underwater adventure for the eyes, Miyazaki has excelled even himself in his manipulation of the two-dimensional form. Whilst always a controversial topic with die-hard fans, the English dub also steps up to the mark, boasting such talents as Liam Neeson, Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett. If you haven’t immersed yourself in the Miyazaki world yet, Ponyo is a great place to start. If you have, take delight in the fact that Miyazaki has, once again, made a masterpiece.