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Dad loved westerns, action movies and it was a great thrill for both of us to meet the great Mr. Parker. A few years later, I was able to interview the Disney Legend for Mouse Tracks and he was candid, cordial and delighted especially to discuss his singing career. Music was a big part of his life and he even welcomed me to his home for the weekly sing-alongs he held when I was in the area. Sadly, I was never in the area and will always regret it.

Tim Hollis and I are grateful for his participation in the book and the fact that we were able to document a rarely examined aspect of his life and career.

The three of us in this picture all shared a love of music. I was delighted to be able to provide a copy of the book for Mr. Parker, but Dad passed before it was published. Still he is with me every day and even appears in most of my dreams, usually in a supporting role. But that was Dad, always supporting. He was that kind of hero.

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"PONYO, PONYO, FISHIE IN THE SEA!"

Be warned, the theme song of this fanciful epic by the renowned Hayao Miyazaki, who won an Best Animated Film Oscar for Spirited Away (reportedly, even the directors of Lilo and Stitch voted for that film even though their film was in the same competition.


Ponyo, a.k.a. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, is perhaps the most innocent and wondrous of Miyazaki's films. It's said to be loosely based on The Little Mermaid (even the DVD package suggest this) but it really only bears a passing resemblance to either the Andersen or Disney versions. Like other Miyazaki films, it tells its own story by its own rules and requires that you allow yourself "into" an almost alternate universe that coexists with a realistic world. Sorry to be so pithy, but it's hard to describe these films adequately. They need to be experienced.

Big name stars perform the dubbed English version and most of them agreed because of their love for the director's previous work.

Among these is Liam Neeson, who appears on camera on one of the bonus features on the two disc set. Tina Fey says she was channeling the movie moms she grew up with. We see the cherished Betty White in recording sessions (she plays one of three ladies in a nursing facility, the other two voiced by Lily Tomlin and Cloris Leachman). Especially remarkable are the performances of young Noah Cyrus (Miley's sister) and Frankie Jonas (the Jonas Brothers' little brother) as the two leads. It's difficult enough to match the voices in an overdubbed foreign language film, it's quite another to add emotion and depth.

My children loved this film. It was their first introduction to Miyazaki, which can be an acquired taste for some. If you enjoy and admire the work of Pixar, you can't deny the extreme (and eagerly credited) influence of Miyazaki on Pixar character development and storytelling in particular.

The two DVD discs also include a storyboarded version of the film and lots of short features about the music, voices, characters and setting of Ponyo.

My only question -- where was the U.S released soundtrack album, including the Cyrus/Jonas version of the song?