“Ponyo” / 「崖の上のポニョ」, Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 2008, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) B202A

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed for the first release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo / 「崖の上のポニョ」.

Produced by Studio Ghibli and distributed theatrically in Japan by Toho, the film opened nationwide on 19 July 2008. This official first-release design presents Ponyo emerging from beneath a translucent marine form, surrounded by the open sea, passing ships and the vivid hand-drawn world of Miyazaki’s film.

Authenticity

This point is important: many official later reproductions of Ponyo poster designs circulate, often sold through Ghibli-related retail channels or reproduced for later promotional use. The example offered here is 100% an original theatrical printing, issued for the film’s original Japanese cinema campaign — not one of the later shop reproductions.

That distinction matters greatly for collectors. Original first-release Miyazaki and Ghibli posters are far scarcer than the reproductions many buyers encounter, and demand for authentic theatrical material remains consistently strong.

Film background

Ponyo was conceived, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, marking his return to feature-film direction following Howl’s Moving Castle.

The story begins in a small town beside the sea, where five-year-old Sōsuke lives with his mother, Lisa, in a house overlooking the harbour. His father, Kōichi, works aboard a ship and is frequently away from home.

One morning, Sōsuke discovers a small red fish trapped inside a glass jar. He rescues her, names her Ponyo and promises to protect her.

Ponyo is not an ordinary fish. Originally named Brünnhilde, she is the daughter of Fujimoto, a once-human sorcerer who has abandoned life on land, and Granmamare, a powerful spirit of the sea.

Ponyo quickly becomes devoted to Sōsuke and declares that she wishes to become human. Fujimoto retrieves her and returns her to the ocean, but Ponyo escapes with the assistance of her numerous younger sisters.

In doing so, she releases the magical “Water of Life,” disrupting the natural balance between land and sea. A vast storm follows, and the ocean rises until Sōsuke’s entire coastal town is submerged beneath the water.

The film combines the intimate friendship between two young children with a larger story about nature, transformation, parental responsibility and the unstable relationship between humanity and the sea.

Miyazaki deliberately returned to animation grounded in the expressive possibilities of the human hand. Studio Ghibli described the production as an attempt to re-examine animation at its most fundamental level: images created through drawing rather than visual realism or technological spectacle. 

Music and theme song

The score was composed by Joe Hisaishi, whose orchestral music gives the film both its expansive maritime atmosphere and its quieter emotional character.

The instantly recognisable title song, also called:

「崖の上のポニョ」

was composed and arranged by Hisaishi, with lyrics by animation director Katsuya Kondō and additional lyrics by Hayao Miyazaki.

It was performed by Fujioka Fujimaki and Nozomi Ōhashi / 藤岡藤巻と大橋のぞみ. The childlike simplicity of the melody and performance became central to the film’s original Japanese promotional campaign.

Poster design

This Japanese B2 poster uses one of the film’s most memorable images: Ponyo gazing directly outward from beneath a large translucent marine form.

Ponyo occupies the visual centre of the composition. Her vivid red hair and rounded orange face contrast strongly with the surrounding blue and grey tones of the sea and rocks.

Her wide eyes convey curiosity and apprehension, while the transparent form curving around her head resembles both a protective canopy and a cresting wave. The image captures Ponyo at the boundary between the underwater world from which she comes and the human world she wishes to enter.

The upper half opens into an expansive maritime landscape. A small motorboat crosses the choppy water while two significantly larger commercial vessels pass in the distance.

Their scale places Ponyo within a recognisably working Japanese coastal environment rather than an abstract fantasy landscape. The harbour traffic also reflects the profession of Sōsuke’s father, Kōichi, whose life at sea is central to the family’s daily routine.

The flat areas of blue, dark linear waves, simplified vessels and softly formed clouds exemplify the film’s deliberately hand-drawn visual language. Rather than pursuing photographic realism, the design retains the directness and movement of an animation drawing.

At the upper-left corner appears the Studio Ghibli emblem with:

「スタジオジブリ作品」

Translated:

“A Studio Ghibli production.”

Above the title is the prominent credit:

「宮崎 駿 監督作品」

Translated:

“A film directed by Hayao Miyazaki.”

The title is presented in large, irregularly drawn characters:

「崖の上のポニョ」

The official English title printed directly beneath it reads:

“Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.”

The Japanese lettering alternates between orange, pale pink and vivid magenta. Its deliberately uneven outline gives the title the appearance of a child’s drawing, complementing the film’s young protagonists and handmade animation style.

The release announcement at the bottom reads:

「7.19（土）全国東宝系ロードショー」

Translated:

“July 19 (Saturday) — nationwide roadshow through the Toho theatre circuit.”

The lower production line identifies Hayao Miyazaki as the film’s original creator, screenwriter and director, Joe Hisaishi as composer, and Fujioka Fujimaki and Nozomi Ōhashi as performers of the title song.

The combination of open ocean, large commercial ships and Ponyo’s intimate frontal portrait creates a particularly effective theatrical image. It presents the film simultaneously as a large-scale maritime fantasy and a personal story seen through the eyes of a child.

Condition

Very Good+ condition. The poster retains strong blue, red, orange, pink and grey colour, crisp printed outlines and very good overall display impact.

Reference: B202A.

Please review all photographs carefully, including the detailed image and reverse, as they show the exact poster and its condition.

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster from the film’s first-release 2008 campaign, not a reproduction or later decorative reprint.

It is now 18 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.