Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
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 hilarious circumstances.
Pom Poko is a genuinely singular entry in Studio Ghibli's catalog — a densely folkloric, politically charged environmental fable told from the perspective of tanuki using their shape-shifting abilities in increasingly surreal and comedic ways. Its Novelty is exceptional: the blend of Japanese mythology, ecological critique, tonal shifts between slapstick and genuine tragedy, and the unapologetic use of traditional tanuki iconography (including their legendary scrotums) makes it utterly unlike any other animated film. The plot is episodic and sprawling rather than tightly constructed, mixing humor and melancholy effectively but lacking the narrative precision of Ghibli's best work. The voice performances (in both Japanese and English dubs) serve the material without being particularly distinctive. Cinematography is warm and lush in the Ghibli tradition but doesn't reach the visual heights of Miyazaki's peak work. The ending is bittersweet and thematically resonant — the raccoons' partial defeat is honest and affecting — but its resolution feels somewhat diffuse rather than powerfully conclusive.