Pom Poko (1994)

Pom Poko (1994) is a playful yet poignant animated fable about a community of tanuki (Japanese raccoon dogs) who use ancient shape‑shifting magic to fight back against the relentless urban expansion destroying their forest home. At first the film delights with imaginative metamorphoses, slapstick gags and folkloric humor as the tanuki—led by elders like Oroku and hotheaded warriors like Gonta—train and scheme to sabotage construction projects and scare humans away. As their struggle escalates the tone grows more serious and bittersweet: the animals face loss, infighting, and the harsh realities of modern development. Watching Pom Poko, you’ll experience a wide emotional range: whimsical transformation sequences and raucous group antics that elicit laughter, sudden bursts of action and tension during sabotage and confrontations, and quieter, mournful moments that underline themes of extinction, cultural erosion, and the cost of progress. Visually the film pairs inventive character animation with lush, detailed backgrounds, blending traditional folklore motifs with contemporary urban imagery. The result is an entertaining, thought‑provoking ride—funny and surreal one moment, moving and reflective the next—that leaves you both amused by the tanuki’s antics and uneasy about the consequences of human expansion.

Actors: Shinchô Kokontei, Makoto Nonomura, Yuriko Ishida

Director: Isao Takahata

Runtime: 119 min

Genres: Animation, Comedy, Drama

7.0 /10 77 /100 7.3 /10 7.3 /10