mable.labadie - 2015-07-23 23:50:24

This movie follows many Raccoons as they struggle to keep there forest around with the humans huge increase of towns and housing for the multiplying humans. With no care for nature they cut down trees and level land at the loss of the Raccoons home. You watch as Raccoons try to drive the humans away with little success, and watch as the Raccoons have to adapt to a new way of life. With many losses and no home the Raccoons must learn to live along side humans with there ability to transform. Throughout this movie you learn that animals can still live and be happy a long side humans and no matter if they lose there home Raccoons are still happy and playful creatures and go on living happy live. This series I thought was very great close to a lot of the Studio Ghibli films I give it a 8 out of 10 just because I don't think it quite met my standards of studio ghibli movies. But none the less very great movie.

xlind - 2014-12-09 03:47:13

Story

Pom Poko has the same environmental theme as many of the other Ghibli movies I’ve seen. However, instead of taking the dark and thought-provoking route of Princess Mononoke, Pom Poko stays light-hearted and kid friendly. It’s the perfect movie for just kicking back and relaxing, but also has an entertaining story that is too good to miss.

Before looking up a list of Studio Ghibli movies on Wikipedia, I had never heard of Pom Poko. It’s a sad fact that Pom Poko hasn’t gotten the publicity that it deserves. Sure, it is directed at kids, but people of many ages can enjoy it. There’s enough goofy comedy to keep the kids entertained and substantial plot and meaningful message to keep the more mature audiences happy. Pom Poko is not a kids movie. More accurately, it’s a family movie. A movie worthy of watching while camped out in your living room with a cup of hot chocolate and your family.

There’s one thing I would like to address about Pom Poko, just to inform you beforehand if you haven’t watch it yet.

Yep, I’m now adding screenshots to my reviews.

The tanuki, (or “raccoon dogs” in English), in Pom Poko mention their testicles often, and lets just say they use them a lot when transforming. At first I thought it was hilarious, but it seemed odd to me coming from a kids movie. I did my research and realized that Pom Poko was just being accurate. Testicles are “an integral part of tanuki folklore,” or so Wikipedia tells me. This knowledge doesn’t subtract from the hilarity, but it sure makes me feel smart! (Ahem, I mean “astute.” There, that sounds even smarter…)

Well, setting aside demographics and testicles, Pom Poko is just a great story. What do you expect from Ghibli? It had that folktale charm and Miyazaki atmosphere. Not much more you could want.

Animation

As always, the animation is great. The art style is obviously directed towards kids, and I wasn’t as big a fan of the way the humans were drawn this time around, but it is nice overall.

The character designs are flawed though. It is increasingly difficult to discern who is who because a lot of the tanuki look exactly the same. There’s not much you can do with designs as far as raccoon dogs go, though, so I see why it ended up this way.

Sound

Wonderful soundtrack as always, though there aren’t any really outstanding tracks that I like more than the others.

Subbed or Dubbed?: Pom Poko has been dubbed in both Japanese and English, and both are really good. I’m particularly fond of the English dub just because John DiMaggio is in it. (For those of you who don’t know, John DiMaggio does the voice of Bender in Futurama. Haven’t seen Futurama? Please, quit reading this review and go watch it).

Characters

The characters are varied, each with their own personalities and such, but they lack depth. They do have development, but because the focus was on the whole group of tanuki, rather than on a few individuals, it ends up lacking. It doesn’t matter much though, because as I said before, it’s a family movie. You shouldn’t expect too much. The purpose of the characters is to make you laugh, and they do just that. Therefore, the characters in Pom Poko are good.

Enjoyment

I really enjoyed Pom Poko. It’s definitely worth showing to others. A plus is that it’s an underrated masterpiece, and having seen and respected something that isn’t very popular is fun for me. Why? Because it makes me seem like a pretentious anime snob. So if you care about that, then it’s a plus for you too.

Final Conclusion: 9/10