Watch Kondo-san's work come to life in the trailer for Ponyo.

Katsuya Kondo is best known for his character design work on the Studio Ghibli films Kiki's Delivery Service and I Can Hear the Sea, as well as the PlayStation game Jade Cocoon. His character designs are considered the epitome of the Studio Ghibli style. He recently returned as animation supervisor on Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo (Disney releases the English-language version on Aug. 14). Kondo has worked with Miyazaki for nearly 25 years, beginning with Castle in the Sky. He offered his thoughts about Ponyo and Miyazaki by email through an interpreter.

Bill Desowitz: You've collaborated with Miyazaki for nearly 25 years. How would you describe the experience of making Ponyo and what distinguishes it from your past work together?

Katsuya Kondo: It has been a long time since I worked with Mr. Miyazaki as a supervising animator, so I enjoyed it very well. The hard times on creating Ponyo, I don't seem to have any particular. Not just Ponyo, but it can be said for all the films, because creating a feature film itself is a matter of hard work. If you look at it objectively, each film may have a different atmosphere, but I am just doing the same work as before. If I were to say one thing about Ponyo that is different from the past titles, I would say that this one is aimed for young children.

BD: This is definitely a movie aimed at young children. Did this energize Miyazaki more than usual?

KK: There is no doubt that Mr. Miyazaki was energized by making this movie! He was much more emotional than usual. I guess that is because of his strong will that says "I want to show this movie to the children!"He sure had so many things on his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about many ideas and he would joke about himself going over the top with so many different ideas of the film.

BD: What were some of the inspirations for the character designs and the overall look?

KK: Characters are based on Mr. Miyazaki's storyboards. I kept on trying to show Ponyo in a way that "casts her radiating emotion and desire into shape."

BD: What were some of the biggest animation challenges?

KK: My tough ones are always "showing something that looks as if it is there." It doesn't just apply to Ponyo, but to the entire animation world. To show someone's presence, you have to make him/her move a lot. It may be a slight movement, or it can be bold. It can be both, or different variations.

This "soft, chubby girl" can sure run on waves with great skill.

BD: What kind of staff did you have?

KK: There are about 50 in-house key animators, and there should be more staff if you count the other divisions. There are so many little things I don't remember what I contributed, but one important advice I remember giving to the staff is to make Ponyo look like "a soft, chubby girl."

BD: What were some of your own contributions?

KK: I used my skill built up during my animator's career. Not just drawing key animation, but the whole production is about delivering each staff's individuality. Like I said before, I did contribute on small points, and answered in my own point of view when asked for advice. Our job is to put Mr. Miyazaki's perspective of the world in shape. We do sometimes fatten his ideas, but that's because there's his basis to it. Mr. Miyazaki is always the base of everything.