Isao Takahata's films all share an exceptional emotional depth, which runs even under the four-panel-gag structure of "My Neighbor the Yamadas". In "Pom Poko" the war of the tanuki against the humans seems comic and almost farcical at times, and there is also a fair helping of satire, which is probably a lot more pointed if you are steeped in Japanese film and pop culture. But the inevitable conclusion is melancholy to the point of tragedy. The tanuki struggle--and their fate--is that of traditional peoples as well as that of ecological communities, and the script makes this explicit near the end: humans, it turns out, were once tanuki. The fadeout, as befits a film for all ages, is softened; but the happiness it shows is only temporary. It's a Ghibli film, and fully up to that studio's astonishingly high standards. The animation is invigorating and beautiful, the settings acutely observed and lovingly rendered. The music and sound are first-rate, too. The structure is off-putting at first, with a great deal of narration and horseplay; but gradually the film's odd blend of goofiness and pathos takes over. One of the most admirable aspects of Takahata's career is his inability to repeat himself. Every film seems to create a new style of animation. "Pom Poko" is unlikely to have successors, but it's a fine genre all by itself.
