SST: Bert's Goldfish

SESAME STREET TUESDAY

At the ward campout last weekend we went to a beautiful little lake where the water was so clear that you could take a few steps out into the water and see the fish swimming around your feet. And I'm not talking minnows - these fish were between three and six inches. If you stood still for long enough, the fish would creep up on you and bite your foot, which felt like a little kiss given the size of their mooshy little mouths. As I watched them pecking at my feet, I thought about Bert's goldfish that go "moomm moomm moomm":



I love to see a sketch where the great Jim Henson and the great Frank Oz are able to improvise together. Henson's Ernie throws a lot of unexpected questions at Bert and it's a delight to see Oz's Bert squirm a little as he tries to think up his answers: "It's uh... it's brunch now. It'll be lunch later." "That's Talbot's wife....Melissa." "I DON'T KNOW WHO THAT IS!" So much fun.

On another goldfish-related note, I must recommend Ponyo, the latest film by our greatest living filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki. It is an absolute marvel. Animation is one of the most collaborative artforms; one man alone cannot draw the hundreds of thousands of drawings that flicker by at twenty-four frames a second. As a result, most animated films feel as though they were made by committee, each moment the result of much discussion and compromise. However, Miyazaki's films feel like they come straight out of a single brain, as if Miyazaki had opened up his brain and poured his undiluted imagination straight onto the screen.

Ponyo is adorable and fun, always surprising and frequently bewildering, disarmingly simple and subtly complex. Miyazaki shows you sights you have neither seen nor imagined, presents ideas you have never thought of, creates characters you have never met, and takes you places you have never visited. It is a film that makes you feel young, alive, and invigorated. Everyone should see this movie - from my youngest nieces and nephews who love My Neighbor Totoro to the adults who don't think they would enjoy an animated film from Japan. And Ponyo should definitely be seen by those of you who love Sesame Street Tuesday.