A still from Hayao Miyazaki's latest work Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. (Photo: sina.com)

Hayao Miyazaki is back in the spotlight with his latest work Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, the Japanese animation legend's first full-length film in four years.

Ponyo, wrote and directed by the 67-year-old, hit screens across Japan on July 19, dismissing speculation that the award-winning animator will retire from the animation industry.

Inspired by the fairy tale The Little Mermaid by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, the film tells the story of a fish-girl, Ponyo, realizing her dream of becoming a human being with the help of a five-year-old boy, Sosuke.

The film has been lapped up by Miyazaki's fans, not only for its simple yet touching story, but also its fresh style, Sina.com.cn reported.

Miyazaki abandoned the computer graphics which he introduced into his animations from 1997 and used primal hand-drawings in Ponyo.

The film used a record high of 170,000 hand-drawn pictures to animate characters and it took one and a half years for 70 staff to draw the pictures.

Miyazaki said during a promotional event for the film that if the feedback was positive, he will continue to use hand-drawn pictures in future animations.

Miyazaki's second last film, Spirited Away, won the Academy Award in 2003 for best animated feature.

He also received a Golden Lion award from the Venice International Film Festival in 2005 for lifetime achievement in cinema.

(CRIENGLISH.com July 21, 2008)