Master of animation draws on traditional techniques

In an era of computer-generated graphics and special effects, Japan's Hayao Miyazaki is sticking with pencils and crayons for his latest animated film.

Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is competing for the coveted Golden Lion prize at the 65th Venice International Film Festival.

The film is another one of Miyazaki's children's animations, like Howl's Moving Castle (2004) and Spirited Away (2001). It's the story of a fish, Ponyo, who longs to become a girl after she is rescued from a jam jar by Sosuke, a five-year-old boy who lives on a seaside cliff.

The story also touches on the relationship between Sosuke and his mother, as well as mortality and environmental issues.

All 170,000 illustrations in the animation were hand-drawn by the master and his team in 18 months.

Speaking in Venice, Miyazaki (left) said the sea was something very complicated that could only be drawn with crayon. For example, he delicately depicted how the waves transform into a swimming fish and how a school of fish becomes a surge of waves.