12 Days of Anime: Studio Ghibli’s Pom Poko

I think this is my first time seeing Pom Poko because I don’t remember seeing a film about raccoons that’s can transform into humans. This film was a mind-boggling trip to watch, so much didn’t make sense at the same time it did. Talking raccoons and forest reduction to create housing in that area. Studio Ghibli really has some creative geniuses working there that would create the slew of films they have produced.

Pom Poko Trailer

The whole movie is about raccoons trying to protect the home they always had from humans and their destructive ways. It was sad seeing the deforestation because it’s still happening today to create revenue for someone. The raccoons decided to hatch a plan and stop the humans and the first plan got three people killed. Then they tried haunting the forest which was the best plan and then when it stopped they stopped too which was their mistake.

As I’m watching I’m just thinking do real raccoons see us like this, do all animals? These questions floated around my head because it felt like animals really do this. The raccoons loved to party and when they party they really party. They partied after every victory and when the people took a break from construction they partied their lives away and construction continued because they stopped haunting the forest.

This film also opens your eyes to deforestation for human consumption to take place after. They poured cement in the river to stop water flow instead of building around the river. Either way, they would have built the housing and displace the animals in the forest and have them migrate to other areas. Just the thought of no consideration for the living things that were there way before plots of land could be sold.

I recommend everyone to see this film there were a few hilarious parts and one thing that made me think this was a good film was the raccoons were just like people. Some raccoons had different opinions about ways to handle the destruction of their home and others were for just killing. There was rebellion and even a Racoon hostage situation, it was the same way people would handle a situation by going to the extreme. It’s a great watch for children to since the raccoons are like little bears, at least that’s how I see them.