When people think of Los Angeles, images of film, Hollywood, celebrities and fame usually come to mind, all of which are found in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Beverly Hills. Starting on Feb. 14, the museum will feature a special exhibit that goes until Jan. 10, 2027: “Ponyo.” This animated film is Hayao Miyazaki’s reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.” The movie weaves a story that captures the innocence of childhood alongside breathtaking, hand-drawn visuals. At a time when Asian culture is experiencing a notable rise in global visibility and influence, shaping trends in media, cuisine, fashion and popular discourse, the arrival of “Ponyo” as a featured exhibit feels especially meaningful. The exhibit highlights the intersection between Asian culture and LA’s vibrant film landscape.
From the moment that you first step into the exhibit, you are greeted with the ethereal music from Joe Hisashi’s soundtrack that brings this movie to life. Giant panels play a loop of scenes from the movie, highlighting its incredible animation style and artistic visuals. Going into the exhibit, you will see beautiful art pieces from the movie. Paintings meant to generate a scene and feel for the movie. Shades of blue, green and yellow combine together to give Ponyo the nostalgic homey feel found within the art itself. I talked with Assistant Curator Emily Rauber Rodriguez from the museum who said that being a two-dimensional film, this particular exhibit “is maybe more like an art museum because almost everything here is flat, 2D works of art, where in our other exhibitions, it’s a lot more props and costumes because that’s how they are filmed.” Stepping into this exhibit felt like stepping into the film itself, from the dim-bluish lighting within the room, to the music playing quietly in the background, to the art and pieces of the film posted up all around you.
As you keep walking, you exit from the movie magic and go towards the behind-the-scenes work that was put into making this movie happen. Short videos of the actors for Sosuke and Ponyo play on a large screen as you get to hear the characters come to life through their voices. As you proceed, giant panels of sketches line the light blue walls. In this part of the room, there are revised key animation drawings. Rodriguez said that “What we see in the second gallery is Miyazaki’s own revisions of those key animation drawings, so almost everything in that middle room is Hayao Miyazaki original drawings. I think that really shows you how much work every single frame to create an animated movie is — how much care Hayao Miyazaki is taking of reviewing every single frame of the movie, essentially, and redrawing elements of the movie, as needed.” This gallery shows the meticulous care it took to bring Ponyo to life, with tiny details of Sosuke lifting his pants up in the ocean to prevent the hem from getting wet or the movement of Ponyo’s cheeks when she is stuck in the jar. With each new drawing, you really do get a glimpse of just how much effort it took to make the entirely hand-drawn animated film appear the way we know it to be.
The last gallery features some of Studio Ghibli’s original movie posters when their films were released in Japan. These posters highlighted not just “Ponyo,” but also “My Neighbor Totoro,” “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” “Howl’s Moving Castle” and so much more. This film is such a special one, as through the gentle care of all who worked on it, characters that the audience know and love come to life on the big screen. Many of the elements presented throughout this exhibit were hand-picked by Studio Ghibli, some of which are on display in North America for the first time. It was also perfectly designed to be entertaining for both adults and children, as this exhibit includes many interactive elements as well as the art and designs of the movie, which present adults with the same awe and sense of magic that their children might get from the second they step into the room.
Yet, with all the magic of the exhibit itself, what I think is truly special is that the Academy decided to highlight a film that distinctly represents and reflects Asian culture. Rodriguez says, “We love to spotlight international film, in particular. I think Studio Ghibli as a whole is such a good example. They create movies that are specific to their own Japanese culture, but I think I can speak for everybody in the world that we all enjoy them. So I think it’s a really great example of that, like, specificity becoming universal.” “Ponyo” is a movie that I have grown up watching, so stepping into this exhibit was literally stepping into my own childhood. The Academy set this exhibit up in a way where everyone can learn so many new things about film, from Asian culture to just appreciating this form of art and its stunning complexity. It is a wonderful exhibit that everyone should try and visit, and for those who have yet to see the movie, the museum sometimes does screenings of the film as well.
