Pom Poko

Pom Poko

1994

Directed by Isao Takahata

This is a Studio Ghibli film from the the mid 1990s. The story follows a colony of tanuki that live in a forest that is about to be turned into a suburb and how they try defend their natural habitat.

Tanuki are actually creatures that are similar to raccoons, but there is also mythology that surrounds them. Tanuki have the ability to shape-shift and the tanuki in this film use this ability in their efforts to thwart the deconstruction of the forest.

One of the aspects of this film that I really enjoyed was the amount of references to Japanese mythology... not just the stories surrounding the Tanuki. In the above photo some of the tanuki have turned into dharma. Dharma are little sculptures that have no eyes. An eye is painted on to symbolize a goal or a wish, and when the goal or wish takes place the other eye is painted. The film is full of these little details... some I was able to pick up on and others that I am sure went completely over my head. 

One scene that is really spectacular is when the tanuki join forces to make a parade of the spirit world through the city and scare the humans. I was able to spot some oni and the god of wind and the god of thunder.

Rustin Allison

Porco Rosso

Porco Rosso

1992

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

I love Miyazaki's films. They are often slow and meditative feeling at times, but the pacing is part of what make his films so unique and wonderful. The pace often adds to the dream-like and often surreal quality of his films.

Porco Rosso centers around the story of an Italian pilot who is cursed to have the face of a pig. Though never fully explained, the film does hint at the causes of the curse. The pilot is a bounty hunter and has his plane destroyed by some rogue air pirates. The pilot must enter a dogfight contest in order to have his repair debt paid off.

I think that I enjoy Miyazaki's later films more than his earlier ones. I did enjoy this film greatly, but I don't think that it compares well with his later films such as Kiki's Delivery Service or Spirited Away. That being said, this is still a film worth checking out... especially for animation fans.

Rustin Allison