Ponyo

Outside of Disney/Pixar magic, you may wonder why critics consider animation an art. Wonder no more. Just see Ponyo, from Japanese animé genius Hayao Miyazaki. Ponyo falls a sliver short of the maestro's landmarks (Princess Mono­noke, Spirited Away), but the delicate colors and hand-drawn, proudly 2-D images are breathtaking. Ponyo, voiced by Noah Cyrus (Miley's sis), is a goldfish with a human face. Sosuke (voiced by Frankie Jonas, a guppy JoBro), a five-year-old boy, finds her in a jar. Then magic turns her into a human girl, throwing the natural order out of balance, along with his parents (Matt Damon, Tina Fey) and hers (Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett). Miyazaki works marvels. Sit back and behold.

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