Miyazaki's attendance at Comic-Con meant attendees finally got to ask questions and gain insight into what inspires this gifted animator (Blast staff photo/Conception Allen)

When the news was made official that Miyazaki planned an appearance to promote the American release of the film “Ponyo,” (”Gake no ue no Ponyo”) fans of his films rejoiced all over the world. This also meant attendees would finally get to ask questions and gain insight into what inspires this gifted animator, whose beautiful sketches and storyboards have attracted the attention of Disney’s John Lasseter. Disney is producing and distributing the film worldwide.

Ponyo is a fantastic story full of magic and drama told through the view of Ponyo, a mermaid who leaves home and becomes marooned on shore without help until a young boy named Sosuke saves her. What gradually unravels is a love story full of lush imagery.

On Friday, audiences were greeted with an elaborate clip from the film which points to Miyazaki’s imaginative scope using color, movement and pace. In what is best described as a roaring undulant sea, shifting into shapes of large gigantic fish, a girl (named Ponyo) rides atop the crests effortlessly and freely. It is surreal, stark and beautiful. Alongside this image are a woman and child racing away from the threatening sea in a small vehicle. Audiences can feel the intensity as the waters tower and crash closely behind them.

It will be a memorable scene that American audiences will enjoy, especially when we hear it paired with the voice talents of Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Frankie Jonas, Cate Blanchett and Betty White for the English version of the film.

Ponyo is a more traditional animated feature, not done in 3D or with computer graphics. When Lasseter was asked about the future of 2D and its relationship with rise of 3D animation, he said: “I’m always inspired by new technology. (We’re) the studio that completed the first animated film, and what I think is important is to let the filmmakers really understand the technology of what you can and can’t do with it.”

During the exclusive press round-table meeting, Blast asked Miyazaki about the nature elements in “Ponyo” and what else we’ll see in the film.

“The way nature and environment has been reflected in ‘Ponyo’ is that I thought Ponyo’s natural strength was connected to the sea and the ocean — the strength that the sea and ocean have,” Miyazaki said. “In many ways, if you look down deep, the strength of people is connected to nature and the depth of nature. And so, that is why when Ponyo comes to the land. She uses the strength of the sea to come. It’s not really a film that has environmental issues or ecological issues in it as much as the strength and the power of nature that I have conveyed.”

Miyazaki isn’t trying to make a statement about Global Warming or about the environment or politics. His film simply reminds us about the beauty of nature and the power of man’s own inner spirit — and that the two can be beautifully combined.

This combination of art, science, film and animation makes it fitting that Miyazaki has been given Comic-Con’s Ink Pot Award, one of the highest honors a guest can receive at this event.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Based on the story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” has been transformed by director David Fincher from a novella to an epic. By fleshing out Fitzgerald’s brisk tale of a man who ages backwards, he makes “Button” breathe again.

Spanning the course of nearly a century, Brad Pitt plays Benjamin Button, a child born with all of the deteriorations of a man in his eighties. Discarded by his father into the loving arms of Queenie (Taraji P. Henson), an owner of an early form of a nursing home, Benjamin ages backwards but, by doing so, is able to learn the important lessons of life both backwards and forwards.

He meets Daisy (who grows up to be Cate Blanchett) when she was just 7 years old. They age together and yet separately, when he starts his life on a tugboat sailing out of New Orleans when he is just about age 16. Daisy, who he always views as the love of his life, lives a very different life in New York City as a dancer.

Benjamin seems to live many different lives over the course of the movie. But, with the film stretching close to three hours long, it takes a while to get past the preliminary portion of the film and into its heart – the relationship between Daisy and Benjamin.

Pitt plays Benjamin from about age seven to age 70 by using advanced CGI-techniques. “Button” was clearly created to be more of a fairy tale than a real story, but because of the aging backwards process, the CGI makes it hard to tell just how old Benjamin is supposed to be. Audience members uncomfortably questioned whether it was proper for Benjamin to have his first woman before realizing he was not around age 10 like they thought and was closer to age 16.

The fairy tale aspect of the film takes away from its message a bit. “Button” loses itself in its length, caught between telling a story and relaying a moral. Ultimately, “Button” was trying to explain that it is never too late to start your life over – a theme created for the film. There wasn’t enough to the film to justify its length.

Overall, “Button” was a good film. Pitt and Blanchett deliver beautiful performances as usual, and Fincher put together a wonderful piece of art. But “Button” begins to feel like a chore to watch once it gets into its second hour and thus losing the power a more concise film would have had.