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Granmammare (グランマンマーレ Guranmanmāre) is the mother of Ponyo and her sisters and the wife of Fujimoto, as seen in the film Ponyo.

Appearance[]

Granmammare is a sea goddess, capable of changing her humanoid form at will. She initially appears enormous; possibly as big as, if not bigger than, a Blue Whale. She appears to others in a bathed glow with a warm, golden light, possibly produced by luminescent plankton. She resembles a very beautiful woman with impossibly-long, red hair, brown eyes, and a kindly face. The cyan robe she wears seems to merge with the sea when she swims, and it is unknown if she has feet, or simply floats freely when she stands. She also seems to be made of water as when she touched Fujimoto with a translucent hand.

History[]

Granmamare greets Fujimoto in his vessel and later in the movie, she passes Kōichi and his sailors underneath their ship, illuminating the sea and causing their engine to come back to life.

She narrated part of the movie that talked about Ponyo becoming human forever, and she meets Lisa under the water for a long time, along with the retirement home, underneath a protective air bubble. Her presence seems to revitalize the old women so they can run again.

Relationships[]

  • Ponyo, her eldest daughter. She is very understanding of her and allows her to give up her magical abilities to become human.
  • Ponyo's Sisters, her younger daughters. She is very loving towards them and is seen collecting and kissing them during the end of the movie.
  • Fujimoto, her husband. Granmammare is patient and unwaveringly kind to him, even when he expects that she will scold him for how he has raised Ponyo, or his control of the sea life.

Power[]

In the film, she is the most powerful creature in the world. She can use her power without messing up the environment. She is able to change the shape and size of her body. She can also read minds by touching someone, so she could read Fujimoto's mind in a short time by touching his head.

Deity[]

She is called Maria Kannon by sailors; as the Guardian of the Sea and the Goddess of Mercy. In Japanese, her name is written as 観音 or 観世音 which means all-seeing and all-hearing.

Trivia[]

  • In Japanese mythology, the god of the sea was named Ryujin, who was depicted as a dragon. In Shintoism the god of the sea was named Susanowo and known for having a fierce temper.
  • In Japanese, Shinto, Chinese, and Buddhism the goddess of mercy/compassion was Kannon (who Granmammare was identified with in the movie). She is a bodhisattva (a person who attained the greatest level of enlightenment but refrained from entering Nirvana to help others), which related to Granmammare’s compassion and affinity towards humans.
  • Granmammare’s relation (if any) to the previously mentioned deities is unknown.

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