Pom Poko
|
| Feature Film: 16 July 1994 / 118 minutes |
| Screenplay, Storyboards, Direction: Isao Takahata |
|
| Pom Poko poster |
| Credits & Film Information Figures; data; weekly BO # |
| Story Plot, project proposal & theme |
| Scripts & Lyrics What they say & sing |
| Synopsis Summary of the film |
| Availability Books, CDs, Videos, etc. |
| FAQ Answers to questions; tidbits |
| Impressions Reviews & articles |
| Related Webpages Gateway to external resources |
| Related Media Movie clips and the like |
| Isao Takahata All about the director |
Pom Poko (平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko?) As civilisation draws ever nearer to their idyllic forest home, a group of mischievous Japanese tanuki (raccoon dogs - Nyctereutes procyonoides) try to scare humans away. But they soon discover that humans are not their only rivals in the struggle for their age-old territory.
Released in 1994 as the Japanese economy slumped, but looking back to the sixties construction boom in Tokyo’s Tama Hills, Pom Poko questions the money-grabbing ethics of yuppie Japan, and mourns the loss of the countryside. Drawing on Japanese myths and legends, writer and director Isao Takahata presents a satirical view of woodland spirits using every available magical ruse to take on modern developers: including transformations, sabotage and trickery.
Pom Poko is a unique window into Japanese folklore, a comedy of modern failings, and an elegiac tale of unlikely heroes fighting insurmountable odds.