Pom Poko [Blu-ray + DVD]

Pom poko is a classics tale of clash between man and nature. Rapid development in the modern world reaches tama hill and the racoons are forced to leave their natural habitat as finding food and shelter becomes harder with each passing day. With nothing seems to be working out for them, racoons decide to unite and scare away the advancement of the modern world by learning traditional art of transforming. Will they be successful in their mission or will they be wiped out by the modern world progress? Will man and nature ever learn to live in harmony? That's what forms the rest of the film in an unusual, emotional and often hilarious ways. Pom poko is directed by another studio ghibli genious Isao takahata who happens to be hayao miyazaki's long time friend and his senior. Pom poko remains studio ghibli's most strange film till date which is in no way lesser rich and intense than any other ghibli films but few contents in the movie may put some viewers off. The movie few frightening images, ghosts, scrotums and a few references of mating here and there. Pom poko contains japanese cultural and traditional references and themes more than any other studio ghibli film. It would have been really interesting to see a feature explaining all those in detail. Pom poko is a comparatively lesser known (to the west) film from studio ghibli which is on par with any of their own fims when it comes to richness and execution of the subject and does not disappoint in anyway. The animation is detailed and flawless and backgrounds lush and breathtaking. Although this dvd is light on extras, yet the disc is definitely worthwhile just for the movie itself. Highly recommended to all studio ghibli fans out there and to everyone else looking for good cinema and great storytelling.

About the film. The movie by itself is based on popular Japanese folklore about Tanuki (raccoon dogs) as they struggle against the urbanisation of countryside regions of Japan, especially Tama Hills. The director Isao Takahata is famous by his unusual approach to animation, he always experiments with something new in his films. In "Pom Poko" he uses at least three different styles of animation according to situation on the screen: realistic portrayal of animals in their real life, animated humans traditional to anime, and comical representation of emotions more inherent to manga. Nevertheless this strange blending of different styles brings unforgettable feelings of tragicomedy. About the European Blu-ray ediion. It's just the movie. Nothing more (we not count the trailer reel and Storyboards). It's a shame it does not feature the original Extra from Japanese edition - Rakugo about the Tanuki, on which this movie is partially based. Rakugo is a Japanese "one man theatre" where one actor on scene tells and shows long anecdotes about different comical situations. Overall it's a "must see" for all fans of Studio Ghibli and Isao Takahata, it's one of his best works. Moreover visual design for this movie was created by Kazuo Oga, the man who established visual look for all Ghibli films starting from "My Neighbor Totoro" in 1988. You definitely will n otforget its stunning backgrounds and fanciful animation approach.

Besides certain details on the characters that made me a lil uncomfortable at time, a lovely story, very funny and cute, yet sad at the same time, lovable characters, great quality, lots of good effort put into it, even for non-Studio Ghibli lovers I'd recommend it, a lovely film! :)

I got this after I bought 'Princess Raccoon' and couldn't make much sense of that film at all! Wiki said that the folk beliefs about raccoons in Japan were strange and complicated, and I thought that "Pom Poko' might elucidate them a bit (apart from it being a Studio Ghibli film - always a recommendation). It certainly helped clear things up, but I hadn't expected it to be also a very serious examination of the negative effects of urban sprawl on the native Japanese ecology. Not as enchanting as "My Neighbour Totoro" but fascinating in the robustness of its critique, and salutary in its exposition of the effects of putting houses and industry before wildlife ... Still a good animated film and worth watching.

I love Pom Poko. It's not really famous, but I discovered it a couple of years ago. I thought it was for kids, but it's a very well done animation movie about the struggle between nature and men, destroying forests and making wild life difficult to survive. I bought it as gift for a friend, and he really appreciated it as well! Highly recommended.

I give this movie 5 stars as it is brilliant, one of ghiblis best. I know we all have different opinions but, I have read some of these reviews that they thought the movie was 'boring' or didn't know what is going on or they didn't get it. Before giving a bad reveiw for this movie please study on Japanese folklore.

For a non Japanese this is a rich source to Japanese folklore. It is also a movie full of humour ahile at the same time it leaves space for reflections - nothing is purely black and white. And the opening scene of the great raccoon dog war is obviously modeled on Kurasowa's samurai battle scenes.

A tale of raccoon dogs and how they try to chase the humans away from their traditional countryside. I usually like to watch manga with the original Japanese and subtitles but the translation is so weird that the only way you can really watch this I think is by having them all talking in cute American accents. At least it makes a bit of sense that way! Based on Japanese folklore it has one of the best surrealist animation sequences I have ever seen, and it's beautifully animated as you would expect with some very exciting sequences.

As soos as I got the movie I played it but my amaze the audio was in Portuguese! It was disappointing I was expecting Japanese audio! I returned the movie!

We started with Spirited Away years ago when the cover caught my eye, then My Neighbor Tortoro when I read Roger Ebert's 4 out of 4 star review. I quickly bought all the family movies from this studio. My kids, now 7 and 9, have cherished them all: Kiki's Delivery Service, Nausicaa, Castle In The Sky, Howl's Moving Castle (my favorite), The Cat Returns (huge hit at my daughter's slumber party), Ponyo... and they wanted more. I hadn't heard of Pom Poko and stumbled acrossed it here on Amazon. The reviews made me a little concerned regarding the males' scrotums, but after I watched the trailer for this movie with my 9 year old daughter on YouTube, we couldn't wait to order Pom Poko and get it home! I had told her about the "pouch" thing and told her not to make an issue of it. When watching the movie she giggled a couple times, but they were funny scenes! Her 7 year old brother didn't notice or seemed phased. As far as the two little bumps "down there" when the male characters are standing-- not a deal; our male dog shows more-- it's just the male body. And when the characters inflated them or transformed them, it was only a few times and just a little quirky but no biggie. That was a non-issue in a overall wonderful film. And the movie is so beloved by both of my kids. They have seem it countless times already and belly laugh at their favorite parts every time. It is up there with Nausicaa for them. I loved it myself. A great message, and very entertaining. People said the ending is not "Disney", but it's a pleasant ending. The same director did Grave of the Fireflies-- one of the best and saddest movies ever. Do not let your children see that one, but that movie was amazing. Anyway, Pom Poko is a wonderful addition to a family who is at all familiar with these excellent, sweet and quirky Japanese films that my kids and I cherish!

Fantastic

Studio Ghibli. The End.

Director Takahata does not benefit from the media aura of his colleague Miyazaki. And yet Pom Poko is undoubtedly one of the best films from Studio Ghibli. Takahata's scenarios are sometimes more subtle, and hide more serious, even very dramatic, thoughts. Since his death, we obviously no longer talk about him. The artist was the most experimental in the diversity of his creations. This is why the public seems to remain resistant to his filmed work. However, in addition to this, go see the adventures of Kié, or those of the Yamadas family. You might be surprised, and like it. For the blu-ray (and DVD or Streaming) editions, we only have the choice based on the number of releases that there are of its titles.