The A to Z Of Studio Ghibli: P

To celebrate the release of ’s latest animation on 2 August, we’re going to have a daily rummage through the Spirited Away studio’s magical history

P is for Ponyo

Hayao Miyazaki’s eighth feature for Studio Ghibli follows the tale of a young goldfish named Ponyo who, upon befriending a human boy, wants to become a human girl. Inspired by Han Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid , Miyazaki revealed he was careful not to tread the same lines as Disney’s adaptation and that there were multiple inspirations for his transformation tale. In a press conference Miyazaki described how he feels, “like I'm searching in my subconscious with a fishing net [when searching for film ideas], and I happened ✤upon catching a goldfish in that net. That was the insp🍸iration for starting to make this movie.”


The latest film from Studio Ghilbli, From Up On Poppy Hill , arriv🔴es in 𓆉UK cinemas on 2 August. Featuring the voice talent of Gillian Anderson, Christina Hendricks, Jamie Lee Curtis, Anton Yelchin and Aubrey Plaza and is directed by Goro Miyazaki. Learn more at the official Studio Ghibli UK Facebook page

Dave Golder
Freelance Writer

Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and ♐post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years.