Pom Poko
December 17, 2022
A community of magical shape-shifting raccoon dogs struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by urban development. All ages welcome!
In this brilliant and often overlooked Studio Ghibli masterpiece from Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Isao Takahata, the forests are filled with groups of magical tanuki—mischievous raccoon-like animals from Japanese folklore that are capable of shape-shifting from their standard raccoon form to practically any object.
The tanuki spend their days playing idly in the hillsides and squabbling over food, until the construction of a huge new Tokyo suburb clears the nearby forest and threatens their way of life. In an effort to defend their home, the tanuki learn to transform into humans and start playing tricks to make the workers think the construction site is haunted, ending in a spectacular night-time spirit parade, with thousands of ghosts, dragons and other magical creatures descending on the city—in an abundance of fantastical characters that would not be matched on screen by Studio Ghibli until Spirited Away.
- Director: Isao Takahata
- Principal Cast: Shinchô Kokontei, Makoto Nonomura, Yuriko Ishida, Norihei Miki, Nijiko Kiyokawa
- Country: Japan
- Year: 1994
- Running Time: 119 min.
- Producer: Ned Lott Toshio Suzuki, Yasuyoshi Tokuma
- Screenplay: Isao Takahata
- Cinematographers: Atsushi Okui
- Editors: Takeshi Seyama
- Music: Shang Shang Typhoon
- Language: Japanese
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- US Distributor: GKids