So much average

Just perfect...

Don't Believe the Hype

Admirable film.

When the two genius minds at Ghibli get selfish, they make some of their most underrated and thought provoking work. Porco Rosso was as selfish as Miyazaki ever got, and for my money I think it's on par with Mononoke, Totoro, and Spirited Away. His partner on the other hand (albeit not an animator himself) has played it selfish on nearly every film he contributed, and for that, among other reasons, he will never be as popular as Hayao. Pom Poko is Isao Takahata and Ghibli's most amazing epic achievement. It's the funniest, smartest, most original, riskiest, darkest, most light hearted, best animated, and boldest film in the catalog. It's hated amongst those who want another Howl's Moving Castle, or Kiki's Delivery Service (nothing against those films, they're just easy to like) and loved by the few who know how truly brilliant these guys really are. It bothers me to no end how underrated this movie is, but on the other hand it doesn't surprise me or bother me at all. There's no need for me to re-hash the plot of this raccoon dog vs. human meddling masterpiece, just believe me it's amazing. And if you don't like it I'm sure there's many a Ghibli you will enjoy instead.

3.5 out of 5 This is the most Takahata-ish Takahata movie. It has all his major quirks: a bizarre sense of humor, traditional Japanese mythology, environmentalism, a focus on story over character, an inability to juggle a lot of characters at once, random but fun singing that strangely does not disrupt the tone of the film, and a Japanese paternal preachiness that his films barely manage to not collapse under.A lot of the characteristics I mentioned are negative, I don't dislike this movie. If I were given the choice between it and a random Hollywood blockbuster, I would pick it every time, despite its many faults. But I'm disappointed. Most filmmakers tend to get better as they get older, or at least grow in interesting ways.  Takahata did neither. As he grew in years, he exchanged complexity and intelligence for clumsy simplicity, and though the stylism he was once famed for did not go away, it was not nearly enough to cover up his declining artistic craft. He became simply a shadow of his former self, and though he was a rich and powerful man responsible for some of his country's enduring masterpieces, you couldn't help but feel pity for someone who had fallen so far, particularly because every now and then, there were traces of his old genius that exposed themselves for just long enough to give you hope.Yes, I'm saying he's basically the Japanese Francis Ford Coppola.The best thing about this film is the aesthetic. Every Takahata film has a great aesthetic, but this film takes it to the next level. It's better-looking than most Miyazaki films, and it has a greater deal creative designs too. A lot of hard work was put into making this film look as good as possible, from beginning to end. I'm not so adverse to Takahata's storytelling as to say you should watch this film on mute, but if you are planning to watch a film on mute, this would not be an a poor choice.I should probably explain the plot of the film: in the 60's, during widespread urban development, a group of raccoons fight to stop their home for being destroyed. Yes, it does not make its environmental message subtly. At least Nausicaa had a strawman. This film doesn't. In fact, on a whole, it is rather disconnected from reality.But that's not my main problem with the film. To explain, let me talk about my favorite scene. It's a romance scene between the 'protagonist' raccoon (I put it in quotes because this film doesn't really have a protagonist), and his love. It's a stunning scene, it's legitimately interesting, and the dialogue is rather well-written. It's the kind of scene you want to last forever.And then they go and terrorize some innocent workers. Yeah, just like that. While I don't think we're supposed to think of the raccoons as universally good, we're supposed to sympathize with them and think their tricks are funny. I don't. The way they're presented, I was cheering for the humans. But even if their tricks were funny, that kind of tonal inconsistency takes the viewer right out of the moment, and it litters this whole movie.Combined with unnecessary bizarre happenings that were not needed and break the pace of the film, and you have a ness of a movie. Takahata being serious is good. Think Grave of the Fireflies, his only truly great movie. Takahata trying to be funny is Takahata wasting the viewer's time. There are even parts of the film that are legitimately funny, but because they weren't weaved in with any artistic prowess, the audience doesn't care.It is not a coincidence that the last five minutes of the film, which are the darkest, are also the best. I was sent dreaming of a better film, one that capitalized on the potential of those last five minutes, and of the very beginning, and of the good character interactions and depictions of this interesting raccoon culture. But as it was, I'm stuck with that film. I'm all right with that. It's just that I hoped for better.By: Joshua A. Fagan

The high production values expected of Studio Ghibli are well to the fore, and so are the studio's well-established ecological concerns and emphasis on community. Pom Poko was supposedly inspired by the construction of a new suburb in the Tama Hills, west of Tokyo. The tanuki act like a collective of eco-protesters, with the same conflicts, wasted efforts and internal squabbles. Director Isao Takahata has a broad humorous streak, demonstrated by an extended visual gag about tanuki testicles. There are many folk stories about the ludicrous uses to which tanuki put their genitals, but most directors avoid including them in family films. He also laces the story with less explicit - and less explicitly Japanese - jokes, and as a result this is a funny, charming, and very entertaining film.

When I saw the trailer for Pom Poko on another Studio Ghibli DVD I thought this would be an overly cute film as it featured talking animals. However it is quite different to any film of that type that I've seen as they are certainly more anatomically correct than animals in western animation and some of them do get killed.The characters are Tanuki, a raccoon-dog native to Japan although in the subtitles they were just referred to as raccoons. These creatures are masters of disguise and some are even capable of shape-shifting. At first this seemed very strange to me but I later learnt that it is based in Japanese folklore. Despite featuring cute animals this is one of Studio Ghibli's more serious films, which shouldn't be too surprising given that it was directed by Isao Takahata.The film is set on the Tama Hills in the late '60s which are in the process of being urbanised at the expense of the tanuki's habitat. They decide to use their shape-shifting abilities in order to scare the people off the land but even though some people are killed they don't stop the work. When that is unsuccessful they seek the assistance of three master shape-shifters from another island. These suggest scaring the people with a "goblin parade" which unfortunately is mistaken for the work of the new theme park opening in the area.As one would expect from Studio Ghibli the artwork is very good, especially during the parade where if you look closely you may spot characters from previous Ghibli films. This is a film that seemed to get better on further viewing when I had more understanding. The film has an obvious environmental message but that isn't over-played.