Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko

I had absolutely zero interest in watching Pom Poko. I never intended on watching it, I never intended on caring about it, I honestly didn't think I'd like it, and I had other anime to watch. Plus, an anime entirely about tanuki just didn't appeal to me, and probably never will. I was so sure I would go through my life never watching this movie...unfortunately, I took a class on Japanese supernatural creatures in college, and on the last day of classes, my teacher made us watch this...and my fears were correct: not only was this movie disappointing, but watching it just made me feel ... drained and uneasy. The only time I was happy was when this movie finally ended or was close to ending. Honestly, I can't stand this movie and I hope to never have to see it ever again.

The story is about a bunch of tanuki who live their normal lives in peace...until humans come into their forests and knock everything down so they can make houses and a new neighborhood for humans. This makes the tanuki angry, and they try to fight off the humans as much as possible in order to preserve their homes, even going as far as to use their shapeshifting powers. Unfortunately, some of the tanuki have forgotten how to shapeshift and have to learn from the masters in order to do so. Some will stop at nothing to fight off the humans, some even suggest that they kill humans, and others just want to save their homes. Yeah, it's a pretty heavily environmentalist movie.

Honestly, this movie could have been great, and it does have a lot of things people would like: animal characters, great Ghibli animation, a wonderful soundtrack, and an aesop about protecting the environment. Unfortunately, this movie fails so hard in so many ways. For one, the movie barely shows anything. All it does is jump from scene to scene for just about no reason just as people are getting to understand what the heck is going on. It doesn't help that there's an obnoxious narrator who is present throughout THE ENTIRE MOVIE who NEVER shuts up about anything! I think the movie would have benefitted so much had they cut out the narrator! Instead of having that narrator info-dump about the tanuki losing their homes, why not show the tanuki losing their home and their reactions to it! Well, technically, they do, but it's so forced in and heavy handed that the movie gives us no reason to care about the characters or their plight.

Speaking of the characters, I'm not afraid to say this: the characters in this movie don't feel like actual characters. They feel more like props to force feed the audience the story's message than anything. All of them are extremely one note, bland, one-dimensional, and pretty much never develop throughout the entire movie. One character, Gonta, is especially terrible because all he does is whine about how he doesn't get to kill any humans. Almost all of the characters are incredibly mean spirited, and the ones who aren't don't do anything to make us care about them or like them. The only character I even remotely liked was the one tanuki lady in the red kimono. She was a strict teacher, but had moments where she was hopeful, told jokes, had fun, and genuinely cared about her elders and the students, so she wasn't being a strict teacher for the sake of being strict. But she didn't get enough screen time to make me like her. All of the other characters are just either ciphers or mouthpieces, nothing else.

The animation is good as usual, and the music is the same, and...honestly, I don't have a problem with tanuki using their testicles in this movie. They're clearly using them for non-sexual purposes, and if they do use them for sexual purposes, its always consensual and never played for fanservice or ecchiness. I know some people would be absolutely horrified by this, but there are worse things out there than mythical cartoon animals using their balls to transform themselves and fight humans. Besides, animals using their sexual organs is common, and it's never portrayed as fanservice-y in any anime I've seen. I DO, however, have a problem with the movie's execution of its morals. It has a very heavy message about how humans hurt the environment with their housing projects and technology, but it's so heavyhanded and forceful that it feels like its force-feeding its message to us rather than letting us interpret it for ourselves. Above all else...the tanukis' struggle is all for naught. We pretty much know that they're not gonna win no matter what, so the question we should be asking is...was it all worth it? What should we even take from this? I honestly don't know, but I do want the two hours I spent watching this back.

Want to know the worst thing? This was penned by Isao Takahata, the man behind Grave of the Fireflies and Tale of Princess Kaguya, among other films. He's usually a lot more restrained than this, so to see one of his works be so ham-handed and cringe-inducing is extremely unlike him. Needless to say, I didn't like this movie. At all. All watching it did was make me feel drained. Now I know what the TVTropes term Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy is, because this movie pretty much exemplifies it. Also, there's a random scene where a couple of ten year old kids are looking at a porn magazine. Really, Takahata?

Not Ghibli's best work. I'd recommend Nausicaa, Kaguya, or When Marnie Was There over this. It's just...not a good movie, and not even good animation and music can save it. It's just a massive chore to watch.

I have dedicated the past few days to watching EVERY Ghibli film. This was my third-to-last. I simply cannot believe that Studio Ghibli created this. Having now watched all of them, I know the studio had its share of problems and movie flops - not all gold. BUT THIS? THIS can't be Ghibli. I feel like I have been pranked. Have we all been pranked? This must be a joke.

This anime is about raccoon testicles. Two hours of raccoon testicles. And some raccoon breasts for good measure. They talk of them; they sing of them; they use them as parachutes and weapons and as a ... flying ship to transport the raccoon village to the afterlife. I'm sure there have been many poor ideas for anime, so how could anyone let THIS ONE through? Who? Why?
The overarching story could have been nice: raccoons defend homes from nasty human development. Great! I loved Fern Gully! But it strayed so far. Did not one person watch the final cut before sending it off?
The art wasn't even close to usual Ghibli standards. The whole thing seems like a joke of a project submitted by some dedicated students.
I just don't know what happened here...

Ponpoko in a word: Crap

Now don't get all upset. I love Studio Ghibli. I can't count how many times I have watched Howl's Moving Castle or My Neighbor Totoro and I have seen just about every other Ghibli movie at least once if not more.

However, this did not feel like a Ghibli film in any way, shape, or form.

1. Story: The story sucked. Seriously, 2 hours worth of shape-shifting raccoons trying to blend in with human society because humans built over their homes?? Really? Girl, please. The whole thing could have been condensed into a 30 second commercial. In fact, it might have ... been better as a commercial cuz then there could be an epic plot twist where Jake from State Farm is really a raccoon. Now, would be something worth re-watching.

2. Art: The animation didn't seem as good. The character design for the raccoons was kind of disappointing. There was also a lot of unnecessary detail drawn on the characters to distinguish the males from the females and vice versa. So dumb. Also the normally beautiful Ghibli backgrounds were bleh.

3. Characters: Just raccoons. Not one was extra special or stood out in any way.... boring, odd raccoons.

Needless to say, I will never ever ever ever rewatch this. Even if some guy offered me $1000 I would not watch it. I would just punch him and take the money any way.

Okay, if there ever was a ghibli movie that went under the raider it would be this one. Directed by anime great Isao Takahata this movie is not talked about at all. The film seems to get lost in the ocean of great Ghibli films. Why is that? What is it about this piece that just never seemed to break through? Well, let's explore it further and see if you can find out.

Pom Poko is about shapeshifting raccoons. These raccoons are actually the mythical creature "Tanuki" who you would have seen if you have watched the anime Uchouten Kazoku. These Tanukis are trying to ... keep the humans around them from tearing down the forest in order to build a city. So it's a man vs nature kind of theme we got going here. From the perspective of nature.

First, the things I liked. The Ghibli is great, you know it, I know it. There is really no need in discussing it further. The Shapeshifting itself is well done. It flows well and feels nice to watch. The movie is also kind of funny. It is not laugh-out-loud funny, but it gave me some chuckles. The humor is mostly connected to the act of shapeshifting. There is a parade-like thing toward the end of the film. And the visuals and feel of that scene are insane. The shapeshifting is, however, not clear at all. They can change form alright, but they can also manifest physical things like clothes. It makes little to no sense.

The music is nice. Nothing special, but it does the job.

The characters are hard to distinguish from each other. Some of the Tanuki are unique, but I can't say that I will remember them in a week. The visual design of the Tanuki masters is excellent and I enjoyed them a lot.

The story is not that structured, the Tanuki are just going through the motion. It kind of makes sense since it follows "wild" animals. However, the film is kind of long, and the loose structure does not help it. I found myself looking at my watch more than I would usually do. The story is also only seen through the perspective of nature. It seems so hamfisted since the nuances are gone. Having a man vs nature theme only really works if you show both sides (like in Princess Mononoke). It becomes so bad that one of the Tanuki just looks at the camera and talks about the message of the film at the end. This is horrible and works against the film.

There is also a narrator who more or less constantly talks throughout the movie and it becomes super annoying really fast. There is also a portion of the film dedicated to two of the main cast establishing a family. I thought this subplot took time away from the important part of the film. Mostly because the characters are so forgettable that it is hard to care.

So yeah, the film is not talked about because it is kind of bad. It is funny Takahata´s other movies were very underplayed and subtle, whereas this film goes the other way.

Hmm..... I feel like I have forgotten something..... I wonder what it could be. Oh yes, balls. Here I am talking about testicles. There are so many of them in this film, it's quite a feed. They shapeshift their balls and fight with them. At one point they fly with them. They make them to a carpet. The ways in which they use their balls in the film are kind of creative. All the males are drawn, his testicles just hanging out. They don't have a penis, so a creative decision was made to only draw the balls. I guess it's to show the feral part of the Tanuki but then go all the way.

This review contains *SPOILERS*.
Watched in Sub/Dub: Dub

Story: 6/10
Pom Poko highlights one of Japan’s odder but extremely popular legends. Pom Poko follows a large commune of raccoons that are determined to reclaim their land from the humans that stole it. The raccoons engage in plenty of shenanigans to halt construction and screw with humans. The plot is all over the place and lacks character development and opportunities for emotional moments. Even though Pom Poko is advertised as a comedy, I found the “funny” moments to be forced and cringey.

Art: 6/10
The animation flow when the raccoons are transforming is excellent but the entire film seems stylistically desynched ... to the other Studio Ghibli films. The scenery specifically is more angular compared to the generally soft look of most nature scenes in Ghibli movies. A lot of the scenes feel and look like a parody of Studio Ghibli movies.

Sound/Soundtrack: 6/10
The soundtrack is generally boring and doesn’t evoke any particular emotion or feelings of nostalgia that other Ghibli soundtracks accomplish.

Character: 1/10
The raccoons are lazy, unlikable, and underdeveloped characters. While in real life I often think about the impact humans have on the habits of other animals, I felt no sympathy for these annoying ass raccoons.

Enjoyment: 4/10
Honestly I was just bored watching this movie from start to finish. It’s difficult to watch a movie where none of the characters are interesting, likable, or even evil. The visuals in Pom Poko are definitely interesting but since I have no personal connection to Japanese folklore (i.e. I wasn’t raised on it), the film doesn’t really offer anything for the viewers to emotionally connect with or care about.

Overall: 4/10
I’m sure if I was more familiar with Japanese folklore and/or had a nostalgic connection to the legends in Pom Poko I would like the film a lot more. However, as an outsider, watching Pom Poko is a dull experience.