The Art of Ponyo (PONYO ON THE CLIFF)
The Art of Ponyo (PONYO ON THE CLIFF) book cover

The Art of Ponyo (PONYO ON THE CLIFF)

Paperback – August 11, 2009

Price
$130.04
Format
Paperback
Pages
268
Publisher
VIZ Media LLC
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1421530642
Dimensions
8.25 x 1 x 12 inches
Weight
3.12 pounds

Description

Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's most beloved animation directors. In September 2005 he was awarded the Venice International Film Festival's Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement, and his Studio Ghibli received the Festival's Osella Award for overall achievement in 2004. Miyazaki's films include Spirited Away , winner of the 2002 Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature Film, as well as Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle , all of which have received great acclaim in the U.S. Miyazaki's other achievements include the highly regarded manga series Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind , which is published in English by VIZ Media. Nausicaä , like many of the director's movies, is now available on DVD in the U.S.

Features & Highlights

  • · The U.S. theatrical release of
  • Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
  • is expected in April 2009. ·
  • Ponyo
  • had over $100 million at the box office in Japan. With the population difference, this is equivalent to Batman The Dark Knight’s $400-$500 million at the box office in the U.S. · The character of Ponyo – a goldfish who becomes a young girl – is very, very cute. · Ponyo storyline is more familiar to Western audiences than previous Miyazaki films · Ecological themes make the book very timely, especially for children. · Ponyo will likely be more popular than prior Miyazaki films at the US box office; we can also expect DVD sales of more than 500,000 (Spirited Away did 400,000 after release). · Ponyo film extremely likely to be nominated for Academy award for animated feature. (Backlist selling opportunity).Relive the story of Ponyo and Sosuke in this full-color movie art book!
  • From the animators of
  • Howl's Moving Castle,
  • Princess Mononoke
  • and Academy Award winner
  • Spirited Away
  • , comes the new Studio Ghibli film
  • Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.
  • Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
  • , loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, is a hand-drawn feature-length film. The art of the film involves not only cel, but also striking watercolor and pastel concept sketches and layout pages. Interviews with productiin principals about their daring choice to hand draw a film in the age of CGI and the screenplay complete the package.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(376)
★★★★
25%
(157)
★★★
15%
(94)
★★
7%
(44)
-7%
(-45)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

It will put a smile on your face

[[VIDEOID:5c2ac4f619d1c5647640a26cfda7f91e]] I can't believe I actually held off purchasing the original Japanese art book when it came out in August 2008. The long wait for the translated version from Viz Media is finally over! It's cool that they have also used the smooth matte paperback covers typically used by the Japanese Studio Ghibli art books. Nice touch.

The Art of Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is a very beautiful book presented just like the other Studio Ghibli art books. There are background paintings, pencil watercolour sketches and film stills. This time, they have included more concept art than the film stills. We have lots of character designs and town paintings. That's over 220 pages of art work followed by the complete voice-over script.

All the concept sketches are drawn by Hayao Miyazaki in his usual pencil and watercolour wash treatment. The concept art and backgrounds by the art staff were supervised by art director Noboru Yoshida, and character sketches and design are by supervising animator Katsuya Kondo. There are interviews with those two as well as with Michiyo Yasuda (Chief Colour Designer) and Atsushi Okui (Director of Digital Imaging). They talk about the watercolour storyboards, how Miyazaki works, how they create the sea and other production stories.

This book is highly recommended for all fans of Studio Ghibli. It will put a smile on your face.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
97 people found this helpful
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Exactly what I wanted

I was excited to see this book on amazon for a few reasons, the biggest being that it's actually by Hayao Miyazaki. I would have been less inclined to order it if it were through a Disney representative. This way I know I'm getting what Hayao wants me to get, and not just whatever the 3rd party feels like printing.

The book has nice, full colour, somewhat glossy pages. It has concept art on the characters, as well as the scenery, and also shows complete frames. It goes without saying that with 268 pages there is little that the book doesn't touch on.

An excellent buy for artists (who are into this sort of thing), and Studio Ghibli film enthusiasts. If there was a second volume, I would buy that too.
10 people found this helpful
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One of, if not the best title in the Studio Ghibli Library series

The Art of Ponyo is probably my favorite title in the Studio Ghibli Library series. Unlike the other titles in this series, this one is not hardback, but does have a dust cover. This particular title is 272 pages.

The book is divided into the following chapters:

"A Small Seaside Town" Hayao Miyazaki
Introduction
Interview, Katsuya Kondo, Supervising Animator
Interview Noboru Yoshida, Art Director
Making the Scenes
Interview Michiyo Yasuda, Chief Color Designer
Interview Atsushi Okui, Director of Digital Imaging
The Complete Voce-Over Script
Credits

The beautiful watercolors are primarily what make this my favorite title. I also enjoy being able to read what other important artists from the film have to say about the process. I also enjoyed seeing Kazuo Oga's work (one of my favorites from Studio Ghibli).

Highly recommended.
7 people found this helpful
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Love the Movie, Love the Book

I love everything having to do with Miyazaki. This is a wonderful item to have along with a copy of the movie. It shows a lot of how the art came about. I got this as a gift and I am so pleased with it. For anyone who liked this movie and books like this, I recommend Howl's Moving Castle too.
[[ASIN:0061478784 Howl's Moving Castle]]
4 people found this helpful
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A Lovely Book

This is a lovely detailed book that brings the magic of Ponyo to the coffee table
3 people found this helpful
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Five Stars

Beautiful pictures and quality. I bought this as a gift for my granddaughter and she loved it.
✓ Verified Purchase

Five Stars

MARVELOUS MYAZAKI!