Studio Ghibli returns to the Academy Museum with the new Ponyo exhibition. We sent a superfan

An exhibition that takes visitors through the magical water worlds of the 2008 film Ponyo and the hand-drawn artistry of Studio Ghibli is now open at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

The films from the Japanese animation studio and director Hayao Miyazaki have captivated imaginations around the world for decades — this reporter with my four tattoos of favorite Studio Ghibli characters included.

This is now the second time the Miracle Mile museum has dedicated an exhibition to Miyazaki’s works, with the focus on Ponyo arriving more than four years after the retrospective of all his animated feature films.

“These drawings have never been shown outside of Japan,” Shraddha Aryal, the museum’s executive vice president of exhibitions, told LAist. “We have an amazing conservation team who actually cell by cell took care of these, conserved these and that was what led us to say let’s do another exhibition really highlighting their artwork.”

The exhibition includes more than 100 items from Studio Ghibli, including animation cells from Ponyo.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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The cult of Studio Ghibli

Since Studio Ghibli’s founding in 1985, the animation powerhouse has created more than 20 feature films, including My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service and most recently The Boy and the Heron, steadily gaining international acclaim.

Its Spirited Away is among the most celebrated animated movies of all time, becoming Japan’s highest-grossing film and holding that record for 19 years. It was also the first hand-drawn film to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003.

The studio and Miyazaki would achieve the same feat again two decades later with The Boy and the Heron in 2024.

Studio Ghibli’s films are often fantastical with a lens of childlike wonder, but they also touch on difficult topics like the horrors of war, fascism, greed and environmental destruction. Characters are complex, with women and girls regularly in strong roles, such as the spear-wielding San or the brave but stubborn Kiki.

For me, there’s something about the carefully crafted storylines and colorful style that still make me feel like I’m exploring the forest with Princess Mononoke or stuck in a secret world of sorcery with Spirited Away, even as an adult.

Miyazaki's magical world

Ponyo is one of Miyazaki’s most kid friendly films — with positive themes of courage and curiosity as the audience tags along with the adventures of the young main characters. Plus, there’s no unnerving scenes of parents being turned into pigs like in Spirited Away (if you know you know).

The 2008 film tells the story of its namesake, the magical goldfish-like creature, Ponyo, and her budding friendship with a 5-year-old human boy named Sōsuke. The film follows Ponyo’s desire to leave her underwater world and become a human to be with Sōsuke, disrupting the balance of nature and having to contend with challenges like a tsunami along the way.

The exhibit creates a 3D version of the filmic world where visitors can climb inside an interactive version of Sōsuke’s green bucket or walk on wave displays like Ponyo in the tsunami.

“Ponyo exhibition is all about this character’s perseverance, and the joyful nature and triumph through ups and downs, [being] willing to explore a new world,” Aryal said. “And it's such a beautiful love story about friendship.”

Reimagining Ponyo

The exhibition includes rare Studio Ghibli donations on display in North America for the first time ever, such as original Miyazaki drawings and Ponyo animation cells, according to the Academy Museum. Guests can explore more than 100 items hand-picked by the studio, including an original animation desk and a make-your-own stop-motion station.

The experience is designed for all ages, reporter superfans with several tattoos of Studio Ghibli characters included.

But Jessica Niebel, the museum’s senior exhibitions curator, told LAist she hopes the Ponyo exhibition helps children feel inspired by the "beautiful messages” of the movie, especially after last year’s L.A. fires and the COVID pandemic.

“Sometimes you live through times where you have a tsunami, where you lose your magic or your mojo, you know, you're not quite sure of your identity,” she said. “[Miyazaki] gives us hope and courage that we can be free and run on the waves like Ponyo.”

“And instead of seeing things as a threat, maybe we use them to carry us,” she continued.

Dipping into the 3-D world

The exhibition is split into four sections focused on different aspects of the film.

The first dives inside Ponyo’s magical underwater home, introducing some main characters with a scene played on a screen spanning nearly the entire room.

The Ponyo exhibition takes visitors inside the 2008 film's magical water worlds.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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The first section includes Ponyo's goddess mother.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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A portrait of Ponyo’s goddess mother, Granmamare, is set up behind a few bean bag chairs in the space, giving guests the sense she’s watching the sea creatures over your shoulder.

The second section centers on Ponyo leaving her home, following her curiosity to dry land where she meets Sōsuke.

The room intentionally reflects the green and blue tones of the film, with curved designs and an interactive bucket that mirrors Miyazaki’s spirit, according to Aryal.

The second section includes the original Japanese release posters from Studio Ghibli’s other famed films, including Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and The Wind Rises.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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The walls are lined with the original Japanese release posters from Studio Ghibli’s other famed films, including Howl’s Moving Castle, Porco Rosso and The Wind Rises.

The third section takes you inside “the animators’ imaginative world,” Niebel said. The centerpiece is an original animation desk donated by Studio Ghibli and surrounded by Miyazaki’s detailed drawings for Ponyo.

The exhibition includes rare materials, such as a Studio Ghibli animation desk with drawing supplies.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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Stations are set up where guests can make their own stop motion animation using sea creature cut-outs.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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Two stations are set-up on the side where guests can create their own stop motion animation scene using some of the sea creature cut-out materials sent by the studio, according to Arturo Arias, an Academy Museum educator and gallery attendant.

“It's really nice to have the sort of underwater theme happening and so people submerge — no pun intended — into it and just kind of play along,” Arias told LAist.

The final section focuses on the scene where Ponyo runs on waves instead of being swallowed by the water.

“That's a moment that's really close to my heart and I think it's sensational and only [something] Hayao Miyazaki could do,” Neibel said. “[Ponyo]'s just so joyful and so free.”

Painted waves cascade on the exhibition walls as a bright Ponyo pokes out, with behind-the-scenes clips showcased on the side.

The film follows Ponyo’s desire to leave her underwater world and become a human disrupting the balance of nature with a tsunami along the way.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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Behind the scenes clips from the making on Ponyo were showcased on the side in the last section of the exhibition.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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The movie may be nearly 20-years-old, but Aryal said the hopeful messages of Ponyo are still “really relevant” in the current world and political climate.

“It kind of becomes a refuge, if I may say that, this joyful refuge,” she said. “There is an option for you, even in this sort of disruptive climate that we're living in right now, that you can come and go through this joyful immersive experience.”

Details

The Academy Museum’s “Studio Ghibli’s PONYO” exhibition is open until Jan. 10, 2027. General admission to the museum is free for children and $25 for adults.