toqtaqiya2 Review of Pom Poko

Pom Poko (1994)

A tale about a pitched battle between Japanese folkloric figures and housing developers at the edge of the Tokyo sprawl.

[8/10 · 22 October 2010]

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.