Pom Poko｜Anime

2024.10.01

“Pom Poko” is an animated film released by Studio Ghibli on July 16, 1994. It is the eighth animated feature film directed by Isao Takahata.
This is the first original film directed by Isao Takahata, who also wrote the original story, wrote the screenplay, and directed the film.

Set in the developing Tama New Town (Tama City), the film tells the story of raccoon dogs in the area who use “chemistry” to resist humans. It was Studio Ghibli’s first film to use computer graphics.

It was the top-grossing Japanese film of 1994, earning 2.6 billion yen. It won the Animation Film Award at the 49th Mainichi Film Awards and the Grand Prix in the feature film category at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival (1995).

Synopsis

Tama New Town (Tama City), Tokyo.
The raccoon dogs, who had been living a leisurely and secretive life in the town, one day start a territorial dispute over feeding grounds. The reason for this is that the number of feeding grounds has been reduced due to the expansion of residential areas by humans.
The raccoon dogs, realizing that they would lose their land, decided to revive their ancestral “haunted learning” in order to compete with the scientific advancement of humans. While the raccoons begin training in “haunted learning,” messengers are sent to the legendary elders who live in Shikoku and Sado Island, asking for reinforcements.
The plan was hatched without the humans’ knowledge, but the raccoon dogs are stubborn but stupid at heart. The plan takes unexpected twists and turns. Despite their best efforts, the plan failed to produce any results.

Finally, the elders of Shikoku arrived and led a yokai (Japanese folk monster) parade operation, but that too failed.
Plunged into despair, the raccoon dogs try to transform the entire housing area into a lush, green, old-fashioned place as a final distraction. Noticing the presence of the raccoons, the humans decide to preserve the natural landscape as much as possible. Although they were unable to stop the development, the raccoon dogs that turned into humans and the raccoon dogs that live in the remaining nature continue to live strong in their own ways.

Pom Poko | Recommendations

It is an animated film about “the good old things that are lost with modernization” with interesting depictions of unique Japanese weirdness.
Every detail is carefully depicted, and each raccoon dog is so unique that the main characters start to look more and more like human beings. Whenever I catch a glimpse of their human-like features, I feel that they are living characters.

Although this is a fantasy play in which animals speak a language, it also speaks of a theme that has a timeless quality. It is a masterpiece that appeals not only to the surface of nature and animals, but also to the “imagination” in an extremely vivid and animated way.