Academy Museum Opens Major Retrospective on Miyazaki's 'Ponyo'

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles has inaugurated a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Hayao Miyazaki's 2008 animated film 'Ponyo on the Cliff'. Titled 'Studio Ghibli's Ponyo', the show opened on February 14 and runs through January 2027. It features over 100 works including posters, original drawings, and sketches, plus an interactive station where visitors can create their own animation sequences. The exhibition is curated by Jessica Niebel. 'Ponyo on the Cliff' was entirely hand-drawn without computer graphics, premiered at the 65th Venice Film Festival, and won Best Animated Film at the Japan Academy Awards. The film tells the story of a boy named Sosuke who befriends a goldfish princess named Ponyo, who dreams of becoming human. This is the Academy Museum's second major Miyazaki exhibition, following its inaugural 2020 retrospective that featured over 300 objects. The museum, designed by Renzo Piano, also offers parallel events including children's workshops, animation study sessions, and special 35mm screenings of the film.