Most of yesterday was nice and lazy but in the late afternoon, David and I met up with his good friend Ben who is visiting this week from NYC. We met up at Kate Mantilini’s for afternoon cocktails and got to hear all about the cabaret show he is directing here for Natalie Joy Johnson … which we are going to see tonight:

After drinks, David and I met up with Darion and his friend Alex for dinner in Century City … before Darion, David and I caught a showing of the new Hayao Miyazaki animated film Ponyo:

I am a huge fan of Miyazaki’s films and Ponyo is right up there with the best of them. It’s a fantastical take on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale The Little Mermaid but with much more flair and magical wonder. The main voices in the English version are that of Frankie Jonas (the littlest Jonas brother) as Sosuke and Noah Cyrus (Miley’s little sister) as Ponyo … but that should NOT deter you from seeing the film. Other vocal performances are provided by Tina Fey, Cate Blanchett, Betty White, Liam Neesom, Matt Damon and Lily Tomlin! Such an amazing cast of voices! But the real draw is the beautiful animation and the wild storytelling … sure, Ponyo shows a world where it’s perfectly fine for a 5 year old boy to be left alone during a tsunami, with matches and a little fish-turned-girl who it is hoped he falls in love with to make her human AND save the world … but that’s what makes this film such an amazing fairy tale. The story is really kinda out there but you just have to go with it and get lost in the wonder. I loved it entirely!
Tonight, as I mentioned above, David and I are going to see Natalie Joy Johnson’s cabaret show with Ben … should be fun. So much going on this week … it’s gonna be a good one!!