The Art of Ponyo cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

When Miramax Films, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, released Princess Mononoke to theatres in 1999, the studio gave a broader American audience (at least, broader than film festival attendees and patrons of specialty movie houses) a chance to see the work of Japanese filmmaker and animator Hayao Miyazaki.  Long championed by Toy Story director, John Lasseter (CCO of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios), Miyazaki’s films have, since the release of Prince Mononoke, earned the filmmaker new fans.  In January 2006, cable television channel Turner Classic Movies even broadcast nine films produced by Miyazaki’s company, Studio Ghibli.

Since Mononoke, American filmgoers have been able to see Spirited Away (which earned Miyazaki an Oscar for best animated feature film) and Howl’s Moving Castle (an Oscar nomination for best animated feature film).  This Friday (August 14, 2009), Walt Disney Pictures releases Miyazaki’s most recent film, Ponyo, to theatres in the U.S. and Canada.

According to Miyazaki, Ponyo is a reworking of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid,” placed in a contemporary Japanese setting.  Readers can learn facts like that and also get a wide open, behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of Ponyo in VIZ Media’s English-language publication of The Art of Ponyo.  It’s a treat for people who love “Art of…” books that focus on animated featured films.

The Art of Ponyo features a generous selection of concept sketches, concept art, backgrounds, character sketches and designs, and film stills (of scenes from Ponyo).  Readers shouldn’t think for a minute that they won’t get to see any drawings done by Miyazaki.  According to the book, he drew all the concept sketches, and the book is littered with wonderful Miyazaki drawings which give us a small peek into this revered director’s creative process.  One page even features a storyboard Miyazaki drew himself.

The book includes numerous examples of both Ponyo concept art, which was produced by the staff of Studio Ghibli, and character sketches and designs produced by Katsuya Kondo, the supervising animator of Ponyo.  Also included are the complete voice-over script for the English-language release of the film and interviews with four of the guiding hands behind the film, including Kondo and Art Director Noboru Yoshida.

The list of people who will want The Art of Ponyo is long: animation aficionados, fans of Miyazaki, libraries, and people who’ve bought previous Miyazaki-related art books.  People who remember the “Art of” books that Hyperion published in the 1990s for Walt Disney animated films (such as The Lion King) will also want The Art of Ponyo, a superbly produced book full of wonderful movie art.  Chances are the movie will also be wonderful.