Pom Poko

Name: Pom Poko
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Comedy, Animation, Family
Released: December 25, 1995
Duration: 119 min
Rating: 77
Cast: Beichô Katsura, Bunshi Katsura Vi, Gannosuke Ashiya, Makoto Nonomura, Nijiko Kiyokawa

1995

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Ratings

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7.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Ratings

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Pom Poko

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Movie Details & Credits

Aurum Producciones | Release Date: December 25, 1995 | PG

Starring: Beichô Katsura, Bunshi Katsura Vi, Gannosuke Ashiya, Makoto Nonomura, Nijiko Kiyokawa, Norihei Miki, Shigeru Izumiya, Shinchô Kokontei, Takehiro Murata, Yuriko Ishida

Summary: A community of magical shape-shifting raccoon dogs struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by urban development.

Director: Isao Takahata

Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy, Comedy, Animation, Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 119 min

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Critic Reviews

Tasha Robinson

For all its goodhearted cheer, Pom Poko is a glum indictment of modern Japan's disjunction from the natural and spiritual world. But it strikes a positive final note by implying that those worlds still exist, just out of sight, waiting and flourishing. Read full review

Mike Hale

The best film by Isao Takahata, who started the studio with Mr. Miyazaki, this is a comic allegory about battling packs of tanuki (Japanese raccoon dogs) joining forces to fight human real estate developers. It’s earthy and rollicking in a way that his co-founder’s films aren’t. Read full review

Chris Cabin

Takahata’s wondrous film is itself at constant interplay between the unsentimental realities of human progress (and expansion) and the unbound thoughts and creative perspectives that fantasy can entertain without necessarily being reduced to mere entertainment. Read full review

Ben Sachs

The film is surprisingly mature in its depiction of community dynamics and its sobering conclusion, which addresses the real-life costs of environmental devastation. The visual design veers from fantasy to naturalism, depending on the tone of the story: the tanuki appear sometimes as Disneyesque cuddlies and other times as realistic-looking rodents. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Thankfully, the proceedings are carefully anchored in what are palpably human concerns, namely the cohabitation of humans and wildlife and the environmental cost of widespread urbanisation, and while this is not quite up there with best of the studio’s output, it’s still a striking and universally pleasurable experience. Read full review

Richard Whittaker

At its best, there's an undoubted thrill and wonder to Pom Poko, like the massive parade of phantoms the tanuki conjure up as one of their harebrained schemes. Takahata's misfire at least provides some wonderful sparkles. Read full review

Andy Webster

Its ecological concerns, nuance and occasional lyricism place it squarely within the Ghibli oeuvre but not among its masterpieces. Read full review

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User Reviews

alejandro970

Apr 12, 2020

Furry rematch. When the nature forces turns. The story balances accurately action, comedy and Japanese folklore as a deep but amusing reflection about the ecological balance. The morphing racoons are cracking, obviously. If you think this ecological metaphor is a hyperbole, you haven't seenFurry rematch. When the nature forces turns. The story balances accurately action, comedy and Japanese folklore as a deep but amusing reflection about the ecological balance. The morphing racoons are cracking, obviously. If you think this ecological metaphor is a hyperbole, you haven't seen yet Princess Mononoke.… Expand

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Motoritz

Feb 7, 2022

Great movie about the topic of urbanization. Just felt somewhat random sometimes throughout the story.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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21	#21 Best Movie of 1995
83	#83 Most Discussed Movie of 1995