Take a deep dive into the world of director Hayao Miyazaki’s animation through the Academy Museum of Motion Picture’s new “Ponyo” exhibit. Following its acclaimed 2022 Miyazaki exhibition, the museum is collaborating with Studio Ghibli again, this time through the deep sea wonders of 2008 film “Ponyo.”
Emily Rauber Rodriguez, one of the curators for the exhibit, said Studio Ghibli donated exclusive pieces to the exhibit. The film follows the heartwarming adventures of a magical goldfish, Ponyo, who longs to become human after meeting a young girl named Sosuke..
“A big component of ‘Ponyo’ is the hand drawn elements, the human made artistry that was involved in making this movie,” Rodriguez said. “I get that from the gallery with all of the music and originals. Just to see how much care is put into every single frame of the movie really feels unique.”
The exhibit transports guests into the underwater adventures of Ponyo and Sosuke, showcasing the animation team’s process in creating the film. The first room is an underwater scene that uses projectors with a combination of light and sound design to revisit iconic parts of the film, such as when Ponyo first emerges from the sea.
The next room follows the main characters adventures on land, conveying the child-like wonder of the animation. This room features a carpeted area with a giant bucket that guests could run through, shifting the viewer into Ponyo’s view of the world.
The walls are decorated with a wave of Miyazaki movie posters, with films geared towards a younger audience such as “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Spirited Away” hanging lower for accessibility to children.
“We wanted [the exhibit] to be friendly and welcoming, and for kids to maybe get the idea of stuff without necessarily being able to read,” Rodriguez said.
In the next room, the walls are decorated with hand-drawn examples from Miyazaki himself, along with an animation table, where families can download an app to create their own stop motion animations.
“All the frameworks in this room are Hayao Miyazaki originals, so also very rare, even at the Studio Ghibli Museum,” Rodriguez said.
According to Rodriguez, Miyazaki would demonstrate how certain details should be drawn to his team even for aspects as small as a hand motion or how trees move in the wind.
The museum also features exclusive footage airing in the United States for the first time, including behind-the-scenes footage of the Japanese and U.S. version of the film’s child voice actors. This footage was exclusively shown on the Japanese Blu-ray version of Ponyo.
The exhibit ends with an interactive area where children can push a life-size cut-out of Ponyo along a wave next to the handcrafted story boards for the movie.
“I think it was important to be child friendly, in part because the movie is so child friendly, and that the movie was really made for kids,” Rodriguez said. “[Miyazaki] has a statement that’s, like, ‘Ponyo is for kids from 8 to 99.’”
The exhibit will run at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures until Jan. 10, 2027.