Pom Poko (Japanese: 平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ Hepburn: Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko?, lit. "Heisei-era Raccoon Dog War Ponpoko") is a 1994 Japanese animated fantasy film, the eighth written and directed by Isao Takahata and animated by Studio Ghibli.
Consistent with Japanese folklore, the tanuki (Japanese raccoon dogs, Nyctereutes procyonoides) are portrayed as a highly sociable, mischievous species, which are able to use "illusion science" to transform into almost anything, but too fun-loving and too fond of tasty treats to be a real threat – unlike the kitsune (foxes) and other shape-shifters. Visually, the tanuki in this film are depicted in three ways: as realistic animals, as anthropomorphic animals that occasionally wear clothes, and as cartoony figures based on the manga of Shigeru Sugiura (of whom Takahata is a great fan). They tend to assume their realistic form when seen by humans, their cartoony form when they are doing something outlandish or whimsical, and their anthropomorphic form at all other times.
Prominent testicles are an integral part of tanuki folklore, and they are shown and referred to throughout the film and frequently used in their shape-shifting. This remains unchanged in the DVD release, though the English dub (but not the subtitles) refers to them as "pouches". Also, in the English dub and subtitles, the animals are never referred to as "raccoon dogs", which is the more accurate English name for the tanuki; instead, they are incorrectly referred to as just "raccoons".
Plot[]
The story begins in late 1960s Japan. A group of tanuki are threatened by a gigantic suburban development project called New Tama, in the Tama Hills on the outskirts of Tokyo. The development is cutting into their forest habitat and dividing their land. The story resumes in early 1990s Japan, during the early years of the Heisei era. With limited living space and food decreasing every year, the tanuki begin fighting among themselves for the diminishing resources, but at the urging of the matriarch Oroku ("Old Fireball"), they decide to unify to stop the development.
Several tanuki lead the resistance, including the aggressive chief Gonta, the old guru Seizaemon, the wise-woman Oroku, and the young and resourceful Shoukichi. They stage several diversions, including industrial sabotage, using their illusion skills (which they must re-learn after having forgotten them). These attacks injure and even kill people, frightening construction workers into quitting, but more workers immediately replace them. In desperation, the tanuki send out messengers to seek help from various legendary elders from other regions.
After several years, one of the messengers returns, bringing a trio of elders from the distant island of Shikoku, where development is not a problem and the tanuki are still worshipped. To re-establish respect for the supernatural, the group stages a massive "ghost parade" to make the humans think the town is haunted. The strain of the massive illusion kills one of the elders, and the effort seems wasted when the owner of a nearby theme park takes credit for the parade, claiming it was a publicity stunt.
With this setback, the unity of the tanuki finally fails, and they break up into smaller groups, each following a different strategy. One group led by Gonta takes the route of eco-terrorism, holding off workers until they are wiped out in a pitched battle with the police. Another group desperately attempts to gain media attention through television appearances to plead against the habitat's destruction. One of the elders becomes senile and starts a Buddhist dancing cult among the tanuki who are unable to transform, eventually sailing away with them in a ship that takes them to their deaths, while the other elder investigates joining the human world as the last of the transforming kitsune (foxes) have already done.
When all else fails, in a last act of defiance, the remaining tanuki stage a grand illusion, temporarily transforming the urbanized land back into its pristine state to remind everyone of what has been lost.[1] Finally, with their strength exhausted, the tanuki most trained in illusion follow the example of the kitsune: They blend into human society one by one, abandoning those who cannot transform. While the media appeal comes too late to stop the construction, the public responds sympathetically to the tanuki, pushing the developers to set aside some areas as parks. However, the parks are too small to accommodate all the non-transforming tanuki. Some try to survive there, dodging traffic to rummage through human scraps for food, while others disperse farther out to the countryside to compete with the tanuki who are already there.
In a touching coda, one day, Shoukichi, who also joined the human world, is coming home from work when he sees a non-transformed tanuki leaping into a gap in a wall. Shoukichi crawls into the gap and follows the path, which leads to a grassy clearing where some of his former companions are gathering. He joyfully transforms back into a tanuki to join them. In an emotional final scene, Shoukichi's friend, Ponkichi addresses the viewer, asking humans to be more considerate of tanuki and other animals less endowed with transformation skills and not to destroy their living space; as the view pulls out and away, their surroundings are revealed as a golf course within a suburban sprawl.
Cast[]
Here are the Japanese/English voices: Ponkichi and other Tanuki practicing their transformations, imitating a creature called shachihoko.
Voice cast[]
| Role | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Kokontei Shincho | Maurice LaMarche |
| Shoukichi | Makoto Nonomura | Jonathan Taylor Thomas |
| Okiyo | Yuriko Ishida | Jillian Bowen |
| Seizaemon | Norihei Miki | J.K. Simmons |
| Fireball Oroku | Nijiko Kiyokawa | Tress MacNeille |
| Gonta | Shigeru Izumiya | Clancy Brown |
| Inugami Gyobu | Gannosuke Ashiya | Jess Harnell |
| Bunta | Takehiro Murata | Kevin Michael Richardson |
| Wonderland President | ||
| Kincho | Beicho Katsura | Brian George |
| Yashimano Hage | ||
| Abbot Tsurugame | Kosan Yanagiya | Unknown |
| Tamasaburo | Akira Kamiya | Wally Kurth |
| Sasuke | Megumi Hayashibara | Marc Dontana |
| Ryutaro | Akira Fukuzawa | John DiMaggio |
| Drunk Man | Unknown | |
| Osho | Kosan Yanagiya | Andre Stojka |
| Hayashi | Osamu Kato | Brian Posehn |
| Koharu | Yorie Yamashita | Olivia d'Abo |
| Ponkichi | Hayashiya Shōzō IX | David Oliver Cohen |
| Otama | Yumi Kuroda | Russi Taylor |
| Reporter/News Anchor | Unknown | Mark Moseley |
Additional voices[]
- Japanese: Rei Sakuma, Yorie Yamashita
- English: Newell Alexander, Erica Beck, Jeff Bennett, Clancy Brown, Reeve Carney, Mitch Carter, David Cowgill, Olivia d'Abo, Holly Dorff, Ike Eisenmann, Zac Gardner, Richard S. Horvitz, Sherry Hursey, Maurice LaMarche, Hope Levy, Mary Mouser, Jordan Orr, Peter Renaday, Philece Sampler, Mark Silverman, J.K. Simmons, Alyson Stoner, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Audrey Wasilewski, Adam Wylie
Reception[]
Pom Poko was the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1994, earning ¥2.63 billion in distribution income.[2] It was chosen as the Japanese submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for that year.
References[]
- ↑ Clements, Jonathan (2006). The Anime Encyclopedia. California: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 1-933330-10-4.
- ↑ "Kako haikyū shūnyū jōi sakuhin 1994-nen" (Japanese). Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Retrieved on 8 February 2011.
External links[]
Pom Poko on Wikipedia- Pom Poko (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- Pom Poko at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- Pom Poko at nausicaa.net // Hayao Miyazaki Web
