Plot summary

『崖の上のポニョ』Deep under the surface of the ocean, a sea-wizard named Fujimoto (English: Liam Neeson, Japanese: George Tokoro) stands at the bow of his submersible, surrounded by an air bubble and an assortment of sea creatures. They swim circles around him as he pours magic potions into the water. Out of a side porthole, a red goldfish peeks out, making sure not to be seen, before waving goodbye to her smaller siblings and swimming off to join a school of jellyfish. She rests on top of one, domed by another, as they float towards the surface and far from her home.When she wakes up, she finds herself in the harbor of a seaside town, Tomonoura. When a large bottom trawler comes towards her, the goldfish swims away from the jellyfish in an attempt to escape but is quickly pulled into the mess of garbage and debris that the trawler picks up in its net. She becomes trapped within a glass jar but manages to escape the net and make it towards shallow water. Meanwhile, a young boy named Sosuke (English: Frankie Jonas, Japanese: Hiroki Doi) runs down the hillside path from his home to the water's edge to play with his toy boat. There, he notices the goldfish stuck in the jar and breaks her out of it, though cutting his thumb in the process. As he holds the seemingly lifeless fish in his hands, she licks his wound clean. Happy that she's alive, the boy takes her back up the hill as a series of strange waves come in and reach for him. The waves return to deeper water where Fujimoto is waiting. He is horrified to hear from them that the goldfish, his daughter, has been taken by a human.Sosuke puts the goldfish, which he names Ponyo (English: Noah Cyrus, Japanese: Yuria Nara), in a bucket full of water and brings her with him to the car where his mother, Lisa (English: Tina Fey, Japanese: Tomoko Yamaguchi), is waiting to take him to school. Just before she gets in, she notices Fujimoto crossing her yard with a portable pump on his back. She scolds him for spraying what she thinks is fertilizer, though he attests it's merely pure ocean water to keep him from drying out on land, before driving off. Lisa drops Sosuke off at school before going to work at the nursing home next door. Sosuke hides Ponyo's bucket in the bushes but his secrecy doesn't go unnoticed. Kumiko (English: Jennessa Rose, Japanese: Eimi Hiraoka), a classmate, asks to see what he's hiding but snubs her nose when shown Ponyo, calling her a boring fish. Ponyo squirts water into Kumiko's face and she begins to cry. Startled, Sosuke goes through the side fence and meets with a few senior citizens sitting outside. While some, like Yoshie (English: Betty White, Japanese: Tomoko Naraoka) and Noriko (English: Cloris Leachman, Japanese: Tokie Hidari), adore Ponyo, bitter Toki (English: Lily Tomlin, Japanese: Kazuko Yoshiyuki) is suspicious of Ponyo's odd appearance and gets squirted in the face as well. The commotion attracts Lisa and Sosuke rushes to the water's edge to escape punishment. However, Fujimoto's waves surround him and take Ponyo back to sea. Sosuke calls after Ponyo but is collected from the water by Lisa who does her best to console him.Ponyo is taken back into the submersible and placed within a bubble. Fujimoto calls her by her given name, Brunhilde, but she rejects it, claiming her name as Ponyo. She declares her love for Sosuke and her desire to be human and sprouts arms and legs in a defiant act of magic. Fujimoto believes humans to be too much trouble and forces Ponyo to revert back into her original state, putting her in a deep sleep. He then leaves to consult Ponyo's mother who he must summon.Arriving home, Lisa is disappointed to hear that Sosuke's sailor father, Koichi (English: Matt Damon, Japanese: Kazushige Nagashima), is unable to come home that night. As his ship passes their hill, Sosuke sends his father a message via Morse code using his signal light. Still peeved, Lisa sends her own unfriendly message, but Sosuke manages to cheer her up.Presumably the next day, Ponyo is awoken by her smaller sisters and quickly evolves feet, hands, and teeth before breaking out of her bubble home. She floods her father's study and releases his most powerful magic. The surge of energy turns Ponyo into a fully fledged human girl and sends her and her siblings rushing towards the surface of the ocean where a massive storm has formed.Sosuke leaves school, braving the strong winds and rain, and runs to meet his mother at the nursing home where the power has gone out. Lisa is encouraged to go home though the roads soon become treacherous due to the high waves. As they drive up the hill towards their home, Sosuke notices Ponyo waving at him as she runs atop the massive waves at sea. The waves follow the car as Lisa struggles to stay on the road. When they reach the house, Ponyo transverses a wave to the road and runs up to Sosuke, hugging him tightly. Lisa takes them both into the house as the waves get bigger and the storm continues. There, she dries them off and goes to start the backup generator where Ponyo helps it using some of her magical talents. For dinner, Lisa gives them hot tea and ramen noodles. Ponyo is fascinated with the new tastes and experiences but soon grows tired and falls asleep on the couch.The storm dissipates to reveal some flooding. Worried about the senior center, Lisa leaves Sosuke in charge and drives down the hill to check on the seniors. Sosuke falls asleep on the couch with Ponyo. Fujimoto, having discovered the breach in his magic, finds Ponyo with Sosuke. He leaves to contact her mother, Granmamare (English: Cate Blanchett, Japanese: Yûki Amami), an ocean spirit. She appears at his submersible where he tells her that Ponyo's actions have spun everything into chaos. The moon has come closer to the earth causing a surge in tides and sending satellites plummeting from orbit like falling stars. Granmamare assures Fujimoto that if Ponyo and Sosuke pass a test, everything will go back to normal.The following morning, Sosuke and Ponyo wake to find that the house is completely surrounded by water. Only the tops of hills and the tallest trees are visible. Sosuke worries for his mother so Ponyo helps him by enlarging his toy boat. They pack a few things and set sail together. Along the way, they meet a family adrift with a small baby. Ponyo shows her generosity by offering the baby and his mother some of her soup and uses her magic to cure the baby when he comes down with a cold. As time passes and they continue their journey, Ponyo becomes more and more tired. When they reach a stretch of road that's not flooded Ponyo's magic wears off and the boat is reduced to its normal size. Sosuke sees his mother's car further up the road and runs to it, calling for Lisa. But she is no where to be seen. Sosuke becomes upset but Ponyo cheers him and encourages him to keep looking. They walk down the road hand in hand.Meanwhile, the senior center is completely submerged, but the elderly run about the yard with renewed energy; a result of the magic keeping them safe underwater. Fujimoto explains to them that theyre about to witness a testimony to true love while Lisa stands nearby talking to Granmamare. She returns to the others, worried about Sosuke but confident that he'll be ok.Sosuke and Ponyo reach a tunnel and, as they walk through it, Ponyo suddenly reverts back to her fish form and falls asleep. Sosuke quickly runs to the end of the tunnel and places her in his bucket which he fills with water. He tries to wake her up but Fujimoto appears to him. He tells Sosuke that he must accompany him to help Ponyo but someone shouts to Sosuke not to trust Fujimoto. Toki stands on a mound where the other senior citizens were brought under water, but she refused to follow. She calls to Sosuke who runs to her. As he leaps into her arms, Fujimoto's waves engulf them and bring them to the senior center under water. There, Sosuke is reunited with his mother. Granmamare approaches him and Ponyo, now awake, and calls Ponyo to her. She asks if Ponyo is willing to live as a human and give up her magic. Ponyo nods yes. Granmamare then asks Sosuke if he can love Ponyo whether she is a little girl or a fish, to which Sosuke says yes.Granmamare then brings everything back to normal and sends everyone back to the surface. Fujimoto shakes Sosuke's hand and bids Ponyo farewell. As he leaves, Ponyo leaps out of Sosuke's bucket, kisses him, and transforms into a little girl right before his eyes.