new on DVD:Ponyo;2012;we live in public

The basics: The latest animated film from Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away") revolves around a boy named Sosuke and his goldfish friend, Ponyo, who wants to become human.

The lowdown: It's not an exaggeration to call this a masterpiece, even though the last third goes a bit off the rails. The hand-drawn animation is ravishing, and the story is sweet and magical. The English dialogue is voiced by such well-known Hollywood actors as Liam Neeson and Cate Blanchett. The only misstep is Tina Fey as Sosuke's mother. (I kept being reminded of Liz Lemon on "30 Rock.")

The extras: A featurette titled "The World of Ghibli"(the animation studio in Japan), which includes behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and an underwhelming interactive feature. Disney has also rereleased three of Miyazaki's other films ("Castle in the Sky," "Kiki's Delivery Service," "My Neighbor Totoro") on DVD this week with the "World" extra.