MovieChat Forums > Gake no ue no Ponyo (2009) Discussion > Sosuke's mother was a RECKLESS DRIVER!

Sosuke's mother was a RECKLESS DRIVER!


What is WITH that? She could hardly steer that car of hers, drives through puddles, risks both their lives and is willing to reach over and lick an ice-cream WHILST DRIVING!! Especially when she tried to make that crossing just before the giant wave hit! TAKE HER LICENCE AWAY!

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lol I agree!

Her driving was crazy, I found it really odd why they did that? She was so reckless, especially when the waves were chasing them.

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I was expecting her to have a crash. I thought there was going to be a moral lesson in it for the kids about the dangers of reckless driving. The fact they never addressed it at all, kind of makes it seem almost like they were promoting reckless driving - or at the least, saying that it's acceptable and it doesn't matter.

http://www.fanfiction.net/~kaeti

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She's worse than Mr. Ogino but not as bad as Ma Dola. But seriously, it may be a way of showing that adults can be more heedless than kids, just like in those other two movies.

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This idea of putting moral lessons for children everywhere is nonsense.
It's not like just because your don't say how bad something is automatically you're promoting it as good. I find talking down to and lecturing kids all the time revolting, expecially when many of them are way more mature than adults.
In Miyazaki films people are people, they act as people do normally in real life, they have well-rounded personalities and flaws. They're not stereotyipical characters used to give black and white lessons about good vs bad. And the worst people in my opinion in society are those who try to fake moral perfection, pretending they never do something wrong and never thinking for themselves acting according to what others will think of them.

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"This idea of putting moral lessons for children everywhere is nonsense.
It's not like just because your don't say how bad something is automatically you're promoting it as good. I find talking down to and lecturing kids all the time revolting, expecially when many of them are way more mature than adults.
In Miyazaki films people are people, they act as people do normally in real life, they have well-rounded personalities and flaws. They're not stereotyipical characters used to give black and white lessons about good vs bad. And the worst people in my opinion in society are those who try to fake moral perfection, pretending they never do something wrong and never thinking for themselves acting according to what others will think of them."

Damn are you distressed x]

BUGS

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That would've been true if Lisa was simply presented as a flawed person. It, however, went out of its way to show us what a wonderful mom she was, which was simply untrue - she was stupid, reckless, irresponsible and above all else neglectful. She was a bad mother and and yet the movie tried to convince us that she wasn't.

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it's to make the movie more exciting ;)

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Yes, all mothers should be presented as the Virgin Mary, on a pedestal and above reproach. How dare Miyazaki present her as a real character with strength, courage, humanity and flaws.

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Agreed. And give kids some credit. The way they showed the driving made it clear, repeatedly, that when she drove recklessly, she frequently came close to disaster! A child watching that reacts much the same way as an adult... I've driven a lot with kids, and believe me, even the little ones will point out to you your driving flaws. My son used to give me a heads up every time a light was changing. No, when they watch Lisa, they know what they're seeing. If they don't, they're a long way from being old enough to drive. I'd worry more about them thinking they should hop into a little boat and head out alone...

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I thought that too, I was like "Jeez, I would not want to be in a car with" - she was just far too crazy.

real human being and a real hero

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She was a wonderful mother and skillful. When I think of a good parent I think of their children not by how the parents act or present themselves. Sosuke was a good kid with a good head on his shoulders. He was very smart for his age and his mother was a good person. Have you ever met parents who appeared like good parents yet their children were evil and complete wrecks? Yea, those are the people who are bad parents.

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I was amused at the terrible driving :P

You buried me alive you dicks!

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I thought her driving finesse was hilarious!

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"She's worse than Mr. Ogino but not as bad as Ma Dola."

That gave me a chuckle.

I'd figure given how PC America is, there'd be some long thread already about this, with someone vehemently stating how irresponsible Miyazaki was.

Then again, there have been several films that had people doing dangerous things involving traffic:

Porco Rosso- Porco pulls a hard turn with his friend's truck, causing the bad guys to spin out and crash.

Whisper of the Heart- Sukishima nonchalantly waltzes into a street, almost getting hit by a van.

Kiki's Delivery Service- Kiki darts into traffic, and Tombo almost gets hit on his bike.


Though I'll laugh at the person who claims that dangerous driving tags need to be slapped on these films (some guy in Illinois felt PIXAr's CARs needed a scene where McQueen races a train to a crossing either removed or a warning to kids not to do it...like a kid is going to drive a car and attempt that).

"I've been shrunk, stretched, and stuffed into a teapot" - Alice

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She should be in the WRC. She could teach 'em.

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lol stupid foebane

yeah any housewife can 4-wheel drift! that's so real!

it's called real driving skills, way above and beyond ordinary folks on the road. I dunno why miyazaki put it in, maybe to give it the sense of speed to the tide, but it sure ain't some run of the mill roadrage.




OH THE HUGE MANATEE!!!

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Haha - I thought the same thing - her driving is kind of crazy, and then it's only later on in one scene when things get crazy she tells her kid to put the seat belt on. Then later she leaves 2 five year olds alone at night. I kind of felt the mom got a fail in parenting. But then, I do realize it's just a movie and I'm sure Miyazaki had his reasons for the mom being like that and he showed she obviously does care for Sosuke and later Ponyo, too. ^.^

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Reminded me of the scene in Castle of Cagliostro, minus the car full of bad guys and grenades going off all over the place. I think in this case, Myyazaki was showing that the mother was an impulsive, hot-tempered person in every aspect of her life - driving, relationships ("stop spraying weed killer!" - "BUG OFF BUG OFF BUG OFF BUGOFFBUGOFFBUGOFF"), leaving her 5-year-old alone with an unknown friend OVERNIGHT, etc. Most of what the mother did in the film would be considered very bad parenting, in my opinion... but it's a fairy tale.

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not to mention calling Fujimoto a Freak Show. then tell Souske not to judge people :p.. dude, if I could drive like that in Japan I'd move there XD.. maybe Ponyo's town has real lax driving laws.. :p

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I would have drawn the similarity with Castle of Cagliostro as well; the way Sosuke loses Ponyo on the shore reminded me somewhat of the way Lupin lost Clarisse on a similar shore.

I think Lisa is intended to be an American, hence her hot-tempered impulsiveness. The only thing that she did that I found really questionable is her leaving Sosuke and Ponyo alone at the house, losing the ability to return home because of rising sea levels. I would expect such a mother to completely freak out and insist on commandeering a boat to take her back to her house; unless she had already met Fujimoto and Granmamare at that point.

§« The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. »§

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It looks like anti-driving propaganda really. Trying to scare kids into never wanting to start driving in the first place to prop up the public transit system.


Quit exhaling! You are contributing to global warming.

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[deleted]

What is your problem? Take the license away from a cartoon? Yes, she drives like a maniac, but she is by no means unique.

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I totally agree. She was the worst driver. Then she leaves her 5 year old home alone with a strange girl. LOL. Too funny - I guess you have to go with the fantasy part of it.

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She was clearly an extremely skilled asphalt driver; Sébastien Loeb had better watch out!

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[deleted]

Is there any commentary on the DVD about her driving skills?

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asians cant drive

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