Pom Poko [Blu-ray + DVD]

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! :)

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.

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.

Incomparable Ghibli,with a strong environmental message, involving the destruction of natural habitats.

Shape shifting Raccoons fight for their forest home in the late 60s, it's fun and more than a little odd what Studio Ghibli does best.

The movie felt like it was really dragging but the ending is super sad

Exactly what it says and arrived after the second time when amazon sorted it.

The DVD arrived well packaged & within the time. I thoroughly enjoyed this Gibhli classic, it is funny & informative!