Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3371 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-01-30
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Formats: Animated, Dubbed, PAL
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 114 minutes

Synopsis
Director Isao Takahata ('Grave Of The Fireflies') and the acclaimed Japanese animation studio Ghibli are the creative forces behind the environmental fable. 'Pom Poko' ('Heisei Tanuki Gassen Pompoko'). In the woods near a rapidly growing city, a group of tanuki, (Japanese racoons), live in relative peace, until the development of the town begins to intrude on their land. The tanuki are faced with a dilemma regarding the human beings, for their homes are being destroyed, but the tanuki also rely on the human community for scavenged food and goods. They decide to try using their powers of illusion and shapeshifting to scare the humans back to the central city and sabotage further building, but will their efforts come too little, too late? 'Pom Poko' uses the figure of the tanuki, an important animal in Japanese folklore and often attributed with the powers seen in the film, to comment on the nature of their society's geographic expansion and the subsequent impact on the natural world.

Customer Reviews

Pom poko pom poko pom!
This film is a commentary on the out of control suburbs swallowing the countryside round Tokyo. It uses popular Japanese folklore to put across an anti-development message.

Tanuki are Racoon Dogs, native to Japan and in the film they struggle to stop the destruction of their forest by using their powers of transformation to try to scare away the humans. "Pom poko" refers to the sound Tanuki make to frighten wayfarers by drumming on their stomachs.

The animation is very special, but the many cultural references and long length (just shy of 2 hrs) mean this film requires perseverence.

The film has a kind of "Babe the sheep-pig" narration, which is good, and some funny scenes where the Tanuki try to learn their art and blend in to human society. Imagine Watership Down, but with the rabbits up for a bit of sabotage rather than moving home.

Although it features fluffy forest creatures, they aint Yogi bear (though they look a bit like him when they get happy!). They are quite prepared to wipe out a few construction workers for their cause.

Past english dubs have tried to gloss over some of the more earthy details. Real-life Tanuki are well known in Japan for their large balls, which were translated for the original Disney release to "pouches". These feature quite heavily in the film, ahem, sometimes literally so - as they are used to crush opponents!

The film has quite a serious message, which means the fun side of the Tanuki, which comes out in many scenes, is eclipsed by the sadness that their habitat is being destroyed for ever.

Overall quite interesting if you want to learn about another culture, and great if you are into animation. Perhaps not so good if you want light family entertainment.

One for the Ghibli-minded
For fans of Studio Ghibli's films, this is probably worth seeing. It's a wonderful piece of animation, and it has several memorable scenes by any film's standard.

But... it's long, and it feels longer. The creators have not made concessions to their audience's patience, nor do they keep a close eye on developing the plot at an even pace. This veers all over and left my initial enthusiasm unrequited by the end. The film is packed with cultural references which might make limited sense to western viewers.

If you found the narrative pace and odd-ball parts of Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle to your taste, you still might find this goes off the deep end a little. If you're looking for an introduction to Japanese anime, or Studio Ghibli, there are a half dozen other films in the 'collection' I'd watch first. Save this for when you know you've got the Ghibli bug...

A superbly drawn and colourful, dynamic and magical tale
It's not Spirited Away, but for likers of Ahime it's a good choice. Beautifully drawn with some absolutely breathtaking, wonderful scenes of glittering colour it's very watchable to any anime fan and many others too; children in particular will enjoy this. Moreover it's largely free of Disneyfication;it's cheesy but more original than most Hollywood cartoons and has a freshness about it that makes it accessible to more than just kids. The issues are often adult-I won't list them because such breakdown of this kind of film defies the entire point of it, and the characters are sympathetic and engaging, often humorous, while the plot is at times playful, at times sad and at times bleak and dark in a way that Hollywood just isn't. On the other hand, its greatest attribute is its ability to make one believe and hope that there is more to this world than meets the eye and that our lives may be touched by something outside our senses, by different experiences and by things beyond the realms of the physical.
All in all, a beautiful experience, albeit one that is full of gaping plot holes where the director's message about environmentalism isn't all that clear, and very worth watching, particularly if you can get it in Japanese with subtitles.