| Pom Poko | 
| List Price: $29.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 31 reviews)
Sales Rank: 15895
Category: DVD
Actors: Kokondei Shinchou, Makoto Nonomura, Yuriko Ishida, Norihei Miki, Nijiko Kiyokawa
Director: Isao Takahata
Publisher: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Label: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Japanese (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 119 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D25346D
UPC: 786936175257
EAN: 0786936175257
ASIN: B0009MAO3W
Release Date: August 16, 2005
Theatrical Release Date: 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Description
Walt Disney Home Entertainment Presents A Studio Ghibli Film. POM POKO is a tale of the clash between modern civilization and the natural world. 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 often hilarious ways, the Raccoons use their powers to try to scare off the advancement of civilization. But will it be enough? Or will the Raccoons learn how to live in balance with the modern world? Celebrate the magic of the forest and the beauty of the creatures who live among us in POM POKO ? on DVD for the first time ever.~(c)1994 Hatake Jimusho GNH (c)Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc.~~
Amazon.com
Isao Takahata's outre ecological fable Pom Poko was the no. 1 domestic film in Japan in 1994, and the first animated feature to be submitted for the Oscar for Foreign Language Film. In 1967, the raccoons in the Tama Hills find their homes are threatened with destruction when developers turn the rural area into suburbs. Under the leadership of their tribal elders the animals fight back with every resource at their disposal. Raccoons are shape-shifters in Japanese folk tales, and the members of this tribe can transform into objects, other creatures and even humans. Unlike Takahata's deeply moving The Grave of the Fireflies, Pom Poko (the sound made by thumping the tummy of a comfortably full raccoon) is a broad comedy. The raccoons' efforts to understand humans, their evocations of traditional ghost stories to frighten construction crews, and their internecine quarrels offers plenty of laughs. But the story rambles, and the characters lack the depth needed to sustain the audience's interest until the film's belated, downbeat conclusion. The extras include Takahata's storyboards, which are interesting, but lack the magic of Hayao Miyazaki's drawings on other Studio Ghibli discs. Note: male raccoons have prominent testicles, which are shown in Japanese art, including the designs for Pom Poko. When the characters grow desperate, they swell their scrotums to enormous size and use them as weapons. (Rated PG, Parental Guidance Suggested: violence, scary images and thematic elements) --Charles Solomon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 26 more reviews...
 When Testicles Attack.... September 18, 2008
Normally, strange plot devices/characters in movies make for entertaining viewing. Despite all the weirdness of Pom Poko, it still managed to be boring on the one hand, and just plain odd on the other.
First of all, I am a great lover of Studio Ghibli films. I've seen almost all of them at this point, and I've loved almost all of them. So, I am no stranger to anime (I've watched tons of different anime, not just Studio Ghibli's) or Studio Ghibli's work. This one, however, really isn't that good. I almost gave it 3 stars until I realized how biased that was; if anyone but Studio Ghibli had put this out, I'd have given it a much lower rating, so it gets it's two stars. Anyway, Pom Poko covers the story of a group of raccoons (actually they are tanukis, but in English it was changed to raccoons) who are trying to stop the humans from destroying their forest.
So what's wrong with this movie? My complaints begin with the pacing. It's rather dull. It spans several years, and the plot twists this way and that before getting to any real conclusion. Not to mention the repetitiveness: the raccoons come up with a plan to stop the humans, they celebrate prematurely, they find out that it didn't work, they mourn. Repeat this several times. It really got old. Another thing is the narration. The movie is told in substantial bits with a narrative monologue. This really dulled it down for me; it sort of broke up the action and distanced the viewer from the things actually going on. Also, the fact that there really wasn't a specific central character made it more difficult to focus or care.
Another complaint I have is the weirdness of bludgeoning people to death with giant testicles. I realize it's cultural, and it's not that I'm offended by it, it was just really weird. This strange element really should've made the movie interesting with its sheer bizareness, but the movie was still rather dull. That's truly paradoxical.
Another thing you should take note of is the environmentalist message. It should be obvious from the synopsis that this is a movie with heavy environmentalist themes. I truly sympathized with the raccoons, as it was very sad to see them struggle in vain to save their home. In fact, the film makers went to great length to make us identify and sympathize with the raccoons by making them anthropomorphic and continually depicting their struggles. Unfortunately, all the human-bashing "humans are evil" dialogue ended up making me feel more defensive than sympathetic at the end of the movie. Still, almost all of Studio Ghibli's movies are environmentalist, but it's never bothered me until this movie.
I've heard that this movie was actually supposed to be a comedy of sorts. I can see how some scenes are silly, but I think the humor may have been lost in translation, so to speak. Perhaps I would've laughed alot more if I was Japanese. I think maybe alot of the humor went over my head, and that's why I didn't enjoy it as much.
Ultimately, I find Pom Poko difficult to recommend to anyone really. Perhaps those already familiar with Studio Ghibli's other works should watch this to say they've seen all Studio Ghibli has to offer. If you're new to Studio Ghibli, I suggest seeing just about any other one of their works, especially Howl's Moving Castle, The Cat Returns, Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.
 Kids Movie, Adult Story August 19, 2008
What can I say? Studio Ghibli always has a way of telling VERY good stories. A must for anyone who has a passion for good story telling
 Probably my least fave Studio Ghibli film. August 17, 2008
And it's still good! It moives at too slow a pace though, and it actually gets kind of boring in spots. The chanting and singing the raccoons do get on my nerves. The scene where they go into town and put on that sort of fireworks/illusion show for the humans was cool, but that's about it. I like the meaning behind the movie (humans are destroying nature, nature tries defending itself), but it fails to captivate me like a majority of the other Ghibli movies do.
Rich in Japanese folktales, songs and ghost stories!! July 1, 2008
For those familiar with Japanese culture, folktales, traditional children's songs and ghost stories, you will be delighted with the homage, the references and the "in jokes." The movie is rich in these references and this is it's most outstanding feature, not the enlarged [...] (which by the way are a traditional mythic feature of tanuki). For the uninitiated, check out "Japanese Ghost Stories" by Lafcadio Hearn, --- the illustrations of woodblock prints from the Edo period alone will demonstrate the rich cultural heritage being romped through by the tanuki band of Tama Hills. This is a gem for anyone interested in a playful view of Japanese culture and folklore.
A fantasy that gets real. (Volume 1: Part 8/9)* June 23, 2008
After seeing a film such as Ocean Waves (I Can Hear The Sea) I was really in the mood get back into the fantasy mode of Ghibli. Ocean Waves is a brilliant real story about 3 friends growing up together and experiencing life head on. It can be awkward and sometimes confusing, but in the end you learn to cope and move forward. *Ocean Waves is not up for release yet so that was my brief review)
Then, we have 'Pom Poko'. It is the story of racoons with the ability to transform into many things from inatimate objects even human beings. In the late 1960s the racoons' home land is being dug up to make more room for new housing projects in Japan and the racoons have a war on their hands. The objective is to scare the humans into stopping production of these new houses and take what is theres. Through all the hardships and crazy parties the racoons soon reach the conclusion that in a constantly changing world they have to figure out ways to evolve with all their surroundings in order to remain alive.
A fantasy directed by Isao Takahata, is something to be prepared for. Takahata has a gift of brining realism to life in his films and he does the same with this one eventhough it envolves such kooky characters as racoons. There are very funny moments but also moments that will make you cry or make you feel warm inside. The characters share amazing bonds and play off each other real well. Though I thought the plot was not as harsh as it turned to be the message is important.
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