Description: Walt Disney Home Entertainment Presents A Studio Ghibli Film. POM POKO is a tale of the clash between modern civilization and the natural world. The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans. In often hilarious ways, the Raccoons use their powers to try to scare off the advancement of civilization. But will it be enough? Or will the Raccoons learn how to live in balance with the modern world? Celebrate the magic of the forest and the beauty of the creatures who live among us in POM POKO — on DVD for the first time ever.~(c)1994 Hatake Jimusho · GNH (c)Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc.~~
Amazon.com: Isao Takahata's outré ecological fable Pom Poko was the no. 1 domestic film in Japan in 1994, and the first animated feature to be submitted for the Oscar for Foreign Language Film. In 1967, the raccoons in the Tama Hills find their homes are threatened with destruction when developers turn the rural area into suburbs. Under the leadership of their tribal elders the animals fight back with every resource at their disposal. Raccoons are shape-shifters in Japanese folk tales, and the members of this tribe can transform into objects, other creatures and even humans.
Unlike Takahata's deeply moving The Grave of the Fireflies, Pom Poko (the sound made by thumping the tummy of a comfortably full raccoon) is a broad comedy. The raccoons' efforts to understand humans, their evocations of traditional ghost stories to frighten construction crews, and their internecine quarrels offers plenty of laughs. But the story rambles, and the characters lack the depth needed to sustain the audience's interest until the film's belated, downbeat conclusion. The extras include Takahata's storyboards, which are interesting, but lack the magic of Hayao Miyazaki's drawings on other Studio Ghibli discs. Note: male raccoons have prominent testicles, which are shown in Japanese art, including the designs for Pom Poko. When the characters grow desperate, they swell their scrotums to enormous size and use them as weapons. (Rated PG, Parental Guidance Suggested: violence, scary images and thematic elements) --Charles Solomon
Kids Movie, Adult Story What can I say? Studio Ghibli always has a way of telling VERY good stories. A must for anyone who has a passion for good story telling
Probably my least fave Studio Ghibli film. And it's still good! It moives at too slow a pace though, and it actually gets kind of boring in spots. The chanting and singing the raccoons do get on my nerves. The scene where they go into town and put on that sort of fireworks/illusion show for the humans was cool, but that's about it. I like the meaning behind the movie (humans are destroying nature, nature tries defending itself), but it fails to captivate me like a majority of the other Ghibli movies do.
Rich in Japanese folktales, songs and ghost stories!! For those familiar with Japanese culture, folktales, traditional children's songs and ghost stories, you will be delighted with the homage, the references and the "in jokes." The movie is rich in these references and this is it's most outstanding feature, not the enlarged [...] (which by the way are a traditional mythic feature of tanuki). For the uninitiated, check out "Japanese Ghost Stories" by Lafcadio Hearn, --- the illustrations of woodblock prints from the Edo period alone will demonstrate the rich cultural heritage being romped through by the tanuki band of Tama Hills. This is a gem for anyone interested in a playful view of Japanese culture and folklore.
A fantasy that gets real. (Volume 1: Part 8/9)* 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.
Morals and Music This Ghibli film, Pom Poko, is directed by Isao Takahata. It features raccoons who find their forests shrinking, due to human expansion, and fight to retain what is left. It is a typical Ghibli film that includes multiple flight scenes (pocket-parachutes, and transformation parade), an environmental message, and numerous fantasy elements.
Pom Poko has a documentary feeling attached. It opens with commentary from some of it's raccoon characters. It then continues with a narrator through various portions of the film. The narrator gives time periods and points out societal trends related to the topic.
Takahata captured the environmental effects of forest loss well. The raccoons view each other as competition for food as the forest shrinks. With less food comes less mating, etc. He also expresses some Darwinian theories in it as well (i. e. adaptation, evolution, etc.).
The music is fun. The raccoons frequently sing and dance and play music. There are two or three songs that could be easily learned and sung by young children. The rest of the music is fun, catchy, and diverse as well. The soundtrack ought to be awesome.
I would consider Pom Poko a great multi-age film for older children through adult.
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