Name: Diocese A.

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Pom Poko Movie Analogy

Pom Poko is a delight from start to finish. It is one of those movies that puts a smile on
your face within the first few minutes, and the damn smile just stays there throughout
most of the rest of the film. It is a film of endless visual delights, stunning emotional
depth. It creates a world so vivid and inviting, you may well wish the running time
were infinite. It is clearly and indisputably one of the masterworks of Isao Takahada.
As humans’ population grows and their technology advances, they begin to develop the
area surrounding the animals’ forest and making inroads into tanuki land. The
creatures try with all their might to ward off the humans and save their environs—but,
ultimately, the humans win, and the number of tanuki near Tokyo dwindle.
It’s a very downbeat ending, but unfortunately realistic. It is likely to have a more
positive impact on a child than a Disney-fied happy ending, where the mutts managed
to outwit the humans.
Let me take a moment to express how powerful an ending Pom Poko has. After
admitting defeat, and making the decision to adapt to the changing landscape the
humans are forcing upon them, the tanuki decide to make one last display of their
supernatural powers.
Late 1960s Japan. A housing shortage in Tokyo sends construction crews to the
Tama Hills on the outskirts of the big city in POM POKO. Developers will put up
thousands of new houses, hoping to accommodate the expanding population. But the
Tama Hills have been the lifelong habitat of an extraordinary breed of raccoons.
Japanese legend has it that these raccoons (tanuki) are capable of magically shape-
shifting, transforming themselves into any creature on the planet, even mythical ones.
The raccoons know that for their species to survive in its natural home, the construction
must be stopped. Led by an array of colorful, food-obsessed, fierce, and heroic leaders,
the raccoons embark on a multifaceted campaign to cut the development down in its
tracks.

The resident raccoons of Pom Poko unleash every kind of prank, battle, shape-
shifting, and scare tactic they can muster to stop their enemies. Some tricks are comic,
some outrageous, some mean-spirited, some awe-inspiring. Along with their efforts
over several years, the raccoons mature, disagree, fall in love, and multiply. When at
last it appears the raccoons may be able to delay the project but that human progress
cannot be contained, they up the ante even further, willing to risk everything, even their
lives.
At nearly two hours long, with its sophisticated themes and the deaths of many
of the raccoons (and three human victims), Pom Poko is best suited for older kids,
tweens, and teens. They play tricks; they celebrate; they mourn; they give up; they try
again. It's understandable that the filmmakers wanted to fully develop the
environmental issues, provide in-depth characters, and offer an informative look at
both the real critters and the Japanese legends that are attached to them, but, although
each element is successful, the sum of the captivating parts is not entirely so. And,
though true to nature, the extensive animal deaths may be upsetting, particularly for
younger kids.