Pom Poko (Heisei tanuki gassen pompoko) (The Raccoon War) poster & wallpaper
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Kokondei Shinchou, Makoto Nonomura, Yuriko Ishida

Renowned animation director Isao Takahata spins this tale about a pitched battle between Japanese folkloric figures and housing developers at the edge of the Tokyo sprawl. The tanuki -- a badger-like ... read more read more...creature often portrayed with big round eyes, a large Buddha-like belly, and long pendulous testicles resting by its feet -- is a beloved figure in Japanese myth, viewed both as a fun-loving bringer of fortune and a shape-changing trickster. Pom Poko opens with a group of tanuki fighting amongst each other for the increasingly scarce resources of their forest. Soon the group realizes that the real enemy is not their fellow tanuki, but suburban sprawl. Lead by their tough-talking matriarch, Oroku Baba, they use their lycanthropic abilities in a campaign to thwart the developers. Suddenly tarps fall on windshields and obstacles appear before bulldozers, sending the lot careening off the road and into a gulch. Unfortunately, the tide of progress is not that easily turned. Will the plucky tanuki keep their pastoral idyll? ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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77% liked it

10,441 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

6 critics

PG, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: Isao Takahata

Release Date: January 1, 1994

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DVD Release Date: August 16, 2005

Stats: 748 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (748)

  • kiriyamakazou
    April 30, 2011
    kiriyamakazou
    I love Studio Ghibli. This was a huge disappointment. From the moment it started I knew it was going to be a poor effort from an exceptional studio. It was headachingly preachy and condescending from the very beginning. Princess Mononoke was able to evaluate the relationship betw... read moreeen man and nature without coming off as educational seminar. In Pom Poko, we are given facts and figures and diagrams and highly obvious visual "metaphors". The entire film is a mess of wrongfully judged tonal shifts. Yes, it was brave to have the raccoons kill the humans, but it's attempt at comedy and cuteness it severely misjudged. The whole film is narrated over in a very lazy fashion. The film is pretty much told to us, without any attempt at creativity or visual imagination. There are no lead characters to connect with, making these raccoons as bad as the humans they fight, if not worse. There are also a lot of awkward moments involving male raccoons forcing themselves upon the females, and testicles that can morph. These testicles are used as humor but are simply not funny. It's an awkward movie with an obvious message, handled with none of the charm, passion, nor humanity, that I've come to expect from Ghibli.
  • SirPant
    October 4, 2010
    SirPant
    One of the more bizarre additions to the Gibli collection, it's good but I think a lot is lost in translation. Still, a mighty fine film and still better than Dreamworks.
  • lewiskendell
    March 11, 2008
    lewiskendell
    Gotta love those crazy raccoons!
  • newvogueravyn
    July 6, 2007
    newvogueravyn
    The transformation scenes were amazing, but I think the rest of the film was too cute for me, scrotums aside.
  • staindslaved
    February 25, 2012
    staindslaved
    Pom Poko is a real culture clash of theme and plot. Wait?!?! What?!!? Shape-shifting Racoon's with giant animated balls?!?! WTF!?!? I imagine this would be the response from most Western audiences. From my understanding Tanuki or "Japanese Raccoon Dogs" are a big part of Japan... read moreese folk-lore. It would be like the Seven Dwarfs or the Big Bad Wolf for most Western cultures. What we interpret as incredibly odd is very generic for Japanese audiences. I'm no expert but I did a little research and this was my findings. As far as the film goes it is very odd even without the shape-shifting, big balled Tanuki. It deals with serious issues of War and environmentalism but handles it in a goofy and often cartoonish way. The serious adult themes and childlike approach are at a constant contrast with each other, unlike My Neighbor Totoro which handled its mature themes and youthful innocence masterfully. The film is a complete mixed bag and it barely warrants a recommendation only because of how fascinating a watch it is because of it's oddball concept.
  • lesleyanorton
    July 27, 2009
    lesleyanorton
    The story goes a bit all over the place, but I've always got time for happy ecological shape-shifting racoons
  • Doctor0Quinzel
    August 23, 2010
    Doctor0Quinzel
    I have been brainwashed by Disney, or so to say I am so use to the Disney-fied films, in which everything goes according to plan. This film doesn't pull any punches and in fact it made me feel really sad, I almost cried. But I didn't find the film really fun and refreshing. I can... read more't comment of the English dub because I watched it in subtitles.
  • Ivan6655321
    May 23, 2010
    Ivan6655321
    definitely Isao Takahata's wildest visual expression, though its sentimental tone can still be compared to his other simplistic works("Grave of the Fireflies" and "Only Yesterday"). But these unusual choices of visual tones is one of the reasons why Studio Ghibli always delivers.... read more The story, as what the title suggests, concerns cheerful raccoons and their crusade to put a stop on the housing development that will surely destroy their habitat. The plot might look very familiar, but be reminded that it's a Ghibli film, so the plot may remain intact, but the imagery may go the surrealist side from time to time . I liked the way how Takahata uses different appearances of the raccoons: Their first one which is how us humans perceive their physical form, and the other one is how they see themselves: Joyful, optimistic, and sometimes reckless. "The Raccoon War" is a very entertaining film, but with Isao Takahata hitting two birds with one stone, has also able to create a poetic ode to the pure beauty of nature and its bumbling inhabitants living in mutual harmony.
  • Lemure
    October 3, 2008
    Lemure
    The tone of this film is very similiar to Happy Feet but with ten times more imagination. Therefore you're enjoying yourself with the wonderful visuals and characters WHILE being told that cutting down forests and polluting rivers is bad.
  • g1pp4l
    July 11, 2008
    g1pp4l
    Hehehe. They have balls. Another wonderful ecologist movie by the Ghibli people. Not perfect because it's a bit too long, but it's amazing anyway.

View All Pom Poko (Heisei tanuki gassen pompoko) (The Raccoon War) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Andy Webster
January 5, 2012
Andy Webster, New York Times

Its ecological concerns, nuance and occasional lyricism place it squarely within the Ghibli oeuvre but not among its masterpieces. Full Review

Tim Brayton
May 26, 2010
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

An excellent contribution to Ghibli's legacy of pro-environment fables about the magic of the natural world and the emptiness of crowded cities. Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.
April 29, 2009
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed

A fun, funny and sad commentary on society, Asian society, and the environment... Full Review

Walter Chaw
September 12, 2005
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

Comes a point where cultural specificity is such that there's really no point in defending something that just doesn't translate. Full Review

Norm Schrager
September 4, 2005
Norm Schrager, Filmcritic.com

smart, stylishly trippy Full Review

MaryAnn Johanson
August 23, 2005
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher

Deeply affecting and visually mesmerizing, this is one of the best animated movies I've ever seen. Full Review

October 16, 2006
Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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