Drop-in Workshop for Families: Animation inspired by Ponyo

Picking up three years after the events in Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith is a critical turning point in the Star Wars saga. Bridging the prequels and the original trilogy, the film depicts the fall of the Republic, the rise of the Empire, Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader, and the birth of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. The final film in the franchise directed by creator George Lucas, Revenge of the Sith is perhaps the darkest and most emotionally charged to date. It was also one of the first commercially released films to be shot entirely with digital cameras—in this case, a Sony CineAlta HDW-F900.

A delight for audiences of all ages, Ponyo focuses on the friendship between 5-year-old Sosuke and a magical goldfish named Brunhilde, the young daughter of a sorcerer father and a sea-goddess mother. After wandering away from her father’s four-flippered submarine, Brunhilde washes ashore and is discovered by curious Sosuke. Now renamed Ponyo, she yearns to be a real girl and join Sosuke’s family. Touching on classic Hayao Miyazaki themes about balance in nature and how friendships can blossom anywhere—even in the ocean’s depths―Ponyo is one of the director’s most charming features.

This screening celebrates the opening of Studio Ghibli’s PONYO, a new Academy Museum exhibition highlighting the film’s traditional, hand-drawn animation. We invite audiences to dive into the world of Ponyo on the big screen before embarking on a voyage through the Level 2 Wanda Gallery.

Inspired by classic war films such as The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), filmmaker Rian Johnson (Knives Out) embarked on his first big-budget project, creating the highest-grossing film of the year. Nominated in four categories at the 90th Academy Awards, including Best Original Score for John Williams—at the time his fifth nomination for the franchise and his 45th nomination overall in the category—The Last Jedi also received nominations for Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and for its visual effects, which creature designer Neal Scanlan says included more practical effects than any previous Star Wars film, including the return of Jedi Master Yoda as a puppet.