Pom Poko (1995)

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

After watching almost all Ghibli movies (many times over) I finally got round to this one. Although I expected a more childish cartoon after reading other reviews, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only I enjoyed the animation and beautiful artistic work of this picture, it made me laugh and tear up as well as I couldn't help myself as to get touched from time to time. Overall a brilliant piece and people who love animals and animations would most certainly enjoy it as it makes even death seem to as gruesome as we, humans, take it. We have a few things to learn from raccoons. As other Ghibli movies, this one has the same charm about it - from the way it is drawn to the plot, which is witty, insightful and always has a moral to it. A great way to educate kids (and adult beans) to respect nature and all living creatures.

I Have Seen All Of Studio Ghibli's Movie's.... Honestly This Movie Is NOT At The Top And NOT At The Bottom.... If I Had The Place The Movie Here Is Where I Would Place It- 1. Grave Of The Fireflies 2. Ponyo(On The Cliff By The Sea) 3. Spirited Away 4. My Neighbor Totoro 5. Princess Mononoke 6. Howls Moving Castle 7. Kiki' Delivery Service 8. Laputa: Castle In The Sky 9. Whisper Of The Heart 10. Porco Rosso 11. Pom Poko~~~~~~~~~~~ 12. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind 13. My Neighbors The Yamadas 14. The Cat Returns 15. Only Yesterday 16. Tales From EarthseaPom Poko Is NOT A Bad Movie, Its Just Not One Of My Favorites Although The Animation Is So Beautiful!Overall It Is Still A VERY Good Movie!

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.

Seriously. It took me ages to get my hands on this one. (forgot that it existed for some years ^^) Now that I've finally seen it(and seen it again one day later) I have to say, that this is the best Ghibli movie yet. (Yes, this was the last one missing for me, and yes, I'm absolutely serious.)The story touches on similar issues as Mononoke or (to a lesser degree) Nausicaa. Man versus Nature, although Nature versus Man would be more appropriate. The scope of the story could almost be called epic, spanning three years, never focusing on any given character for too long, but rather dealing out similar screen time to a whole bunch of them. Two things I really didn't expect from a movie definitely aimed at children. The movie, clocking in at two hours, never loses its momentum but it does lack a bit of coherence. I can't quite describe it, but it feels more like watching four episodes in a row, rather then one movie. But thats nothing to fuss about really. Those two hours are packed with hilarious raccoon moments (whatever that is). Watching the raccoons transform, partying and being generally undecided about everything is just fun. It could have gone on for another two hours for all I cared. Its hilarious to watch. But then all of a sudden there are those moments hitting you straight in the stomach and bringing you back to earth. It never feels like this movie tries to wiggle the moral finger, it doesn't have to and it still gets its message across but in such an unpretentious way that you have to sit back afterwards and really appreciate the artistry behind it.Technically, the animation is OK, although it really shines in transformation scenes (which make up about 80% of the movie ^^) It's like they forced their animators to double the framerate for those, and it really shows. Simply seamless. Seriously, it puts almost everything else to shame I've seen in Mainstream Animation so far. At some point you don't even realize it anymore, you take it as a given that a raccoon can transform into whatever the hell he feels like because it just happens naturally.To get to the point. This movie is for kids (although all the male raccoons show of their balls ^^), but its just so funny in an over the top kind of way, that you have to be a soulless automaton to resist its charm no matter your age. I don't do this often, but in this case I have to...10/10