Pom Poko [DVD]

one of my lesser liked Studio Ghibli films. It had it's interesting moments to be sure, but the overarching story simply doesn't impress me.PARENT WARNING: aside from the animal testes, which i could honestly accept and overlook, as kids see animals with private parts all the time, THERE IS a brief scene with kids holding up a Playboy with 3 naked drawn human women in them. nipples and all. Just thought i'd point that out for prospective buyers.like i said, the movie was only OKAY. i sort of regret buying it. if it were $7 or less, it'd be more worth it.

I first saw this at the IFC theater in NYC where they were having a Studio Gibli festival. I've seen a half dozen or so of the other Gibli flicks and thought a lot of them. I'm an Anime fan in general - I would say the Gibli films are usually targeted primarily for children and have a certain, slick polish to them. Pom Poko is a bit different - it shares the same themes as many of the Gibli films - our destruction of nature and how this destruction creates discord with the Shinto spirits of nature. It differs in that it is not as polished in some places and there seem to be certain stylistic inconsistencies with the animation - nothing too serious and I attribute much of this to the fact that this film is older than many of those that have become popular in the US market recently. The movie really is bizarre in many respects though - it feels more Japanese than many of the other films and is very quirky. I found myself laughing out loud many times throughout the film which is not the way I usually react to Gibli films - it was just so weird! Those who criticize the film because of the occasional, cartoonish depiction of testes should really try and think outside the box of our own cultural norms. Certainly Japanese culture is equal to the US in terms of modernity and sophistication - the depiction of testes is not meant to be pornographic or dirty in any way - its simply part of their culture. And really, the drawings of them aren't very realistic so its hard to see how it could offend anyone. Frankly I barely noticed it - its only when I read some of these reviews that I see how bizarrely prudish some of our fellow citizens are...

After seeing a film such as Ocean Waves (I Can Hear The Sea) I was really in the mood get back into the fantasy mode of Ghibli. Ocean Waves is a brilliant real story about 3 friends growing up together and experiencing life head on. It can be awkward and sometimes confusing, but in the end you learn to cope and move forward. *Ocean Waves is not up for release yet so that was my brief review)Then, we have 'Pom Poko'. It is the story of racoons with the ability to transform into many things from inatimate objects even human beings. In the late 1960s the racoons' home land is being dug up to make more room for new housing projects in Japan and the racoons have a war on their hands. The objective is to scare the humans into stopping production of these new houses and take what is theres. Through all the hardships and crazy parties the racoons soon reach the conclusion that in a constantly changing world they have to figure out ways to evolve with all their surroundings in order to remain alive.A fantasy directed by Isao Takahata, is something to be prepared for. Takahata has a gift of brining realism to life in his films and he does the same with this one eventhough it envolves such kooky characters as racoons. There are very funny moments but also moments that will make you cry or make you feel warm inside. The characters share amazing bonds and play off each other real well. Though I thought the plot was not as harsh as it turned to be the message is important.

While the animation of this movie is on par with all the other Studio Ghibli movies, it does have more of an older age theme. The movie is about shape shifting raccoons learning to deal the human expansions and the environmental impacts of housing developments. The raccoons are drawn anatomically correct and in several clips they use there raccoon "pouches"(as the are called in the movie) to transform in to carpets, parachutes, and even to squish humans with oversized pouches. Aside from the environmental overtones and the "pouches" it is an enjoyable movie with some good laughs. Knowing what I know now, I would have bought this movie for myself instead of for my 5yo. Hope this helps.

Based on Japanese folklore, magical raccoons with the ability to shape-shift inhabit a forest. They mostly live a carefree life. However, their peace is threatened when humans decide to start leveling the forest to make way for a new town. The raccoons find that their home is being destroyed and start wondering what to do about it. They start to hone their shape-shifting skills and try to stave off the human incursion.In the English dub, the creatures are called "raccoons" which is a simplification of the original name "tanuki." Indeed, overall this movie is heavily influenced by folklore surrounding the tanuki and contains many other references to Japanese culture that may be lost to a western viewer, including myself. However, even though every reference may not be understood, the main story of the movie is easy enough to grasp. I enjoyed this film with its trademark Ghibli excellence in animation and some good humor along the way. It may be a little bizarre to some people, but it is a good movie nonetheless.The bonus features on this set are rather light which consists of some trailers and the original storyboards.If you like animation, especially the works of Studio Ghibli, I would recommend checking out this movie.

this is a wonderful film that addresses some of the issues of human development infringing on the rest of nature... all done with so much humor, creativity and curiosity ! many mythic images and lots of adventures.highly recommended!

About the film.The movie by itself is based on popular Japanese folklore about Tanuki (raccoon dogs) as they struggle against the urbanisation of countryside regions of Japan, especially Tama Hills. The director Isao Takahata is famous by his unusual approach to animation, he always experiments with something new in his films. In "Pom Poko" he uses at least three different styles of animation according to situation on the screen: realistic portrayal of animals in their real life, animated humans traditional to anime, and comical representation of emotions more inherent to manga. Nevertheless this strange blending of different styles brings unforgettable feelings of tragicomedy.About the European Blu-ray ediion.It's just the movie. Nothing more (we not count the trailer reel and Storyboards). It's a shame it does not feature the original Extra from Japanese edition - Rakugo about the Tanuki, on which this movie is partially based. Rakugo is a Japanese "one man theatre" where one actor on scene tells and shows long anecdotes about different comical situations.Overall it's a "must see" for all fans of Studio Ghibli and Isao Takahata, it's one of his best works. Moreover visual design for this movie was created by Kazuo Oga, the man who established visual look for all Ghibli films starting from "My Neighbor Totoro" in 1988. You definitely will n otforget its stunning backgrounds and fanciful animation approach.

Besides certain details on the characters that made me a lil uncomfortable at time, a lovely story, very funny and cute, yet sad at the same time, lovable characters, great quality, lots of good effort put into it, even for non-Studio Ghibli lovers I'd recommend it, a lovely film! :)

A tale of raccoon dogs and how they try to chase the humans away from their traditional countryside. I usually like to watch manga with the original Japanese and subtitles but the translation is so weird that the only way you can really watch this I think is by having them all talking in cute American accents. At least it makes a bit of sense that way! Based on Japanese folklore it has one of the best surrealist animation sequences I have ever seen, and it's beautifully animated as you would expect with some very exciting sequences.

Incomparable Ghibli,with a strong environmental message, involving the destruction of natural habitats.

Shape shifting Raccoons fight for their forest home in the late 60s, it's fun and more than a little odd what Studio Ghibli does best.