Pom Poko 1995

In the late 1960s Japan, a group of tanuki faces a grave danger due to a massive suburban development project named New Tama encroaching on their forest home in the Tama Hills on the outskirts of Tokyo. This project threatens to fragment their territory and deplete their resources. As the narrative unfolds in the early 1990s, amidst the burgeoning Heisei era, the situation for the tanuki worsens. With their living space shrinking and food growing scarcer each passing year, the tanuki are driven to conflict with one another over the dwindling resources. However, urged by their wise matriarch Oroku, they decide to band together and resist the impending development.

Leading the charge in this resistance are several brave tanuki, including the fierce chief Gonta, the wise elder Seizaemon, the resourceful youngster Shoukichi, and the sagacious Oroku. They tap into and relearn their mystical illusion skills, previously forgotten, to orchestrate a series of distractions and sabotage against the construction efforts. These bold tactics lead to injuries and even fatalities among workers, prompting many to abandon their posts. Yet, despite the tanuki’s valiant efforts, new workers continuously take their place.

Desperate for aid, the tanuki send messengers to seek out legendary elders from distant lands. After years of waiting, one such messenger returns, accompanied by a trio of revered elders from Shikoku, where the tanuki still live harmoniously without threats of development. To instill respect for the supernatural once more, they craft a grand ghost parade, intended to make the humans believe the area is haunted. Tragically, the effort takes a toll when one elder dies from the strain, his spirit departing during a raigō. The parade’s impact is squandered when a local theme park owner falsely claims it was a publicity stunt.

Following this setback, the unity of the tanuki breaks down; they splinter into smaller factions, each adopting different tactics. One faction, under Gonta, resorts to eco-terrorism, leading to a catastrophic confrontation with law enforcement. In a heroic last stand, Gonta merges with other tanuki to form a monstrous tsurube-otoshi, ultimately sacrificing themselves to halt a massive truck. Meanwhile, another group seeks media attention through television appeals, while one elder descends into senility and starts a Buddhist dance cult, leading to a perilous voyage to their doom, while another contemplates forging bonds with humanity, following the paths of the last transforming kitsune.

In a final act of rebellion, the remaining tanuki conjure a breathtaking illusion that briefly restores their former habitat’s glory, evoking nostalgia for what is lost. Yet, as their strength wanes, the tanuki, skilled in illusion but weary, start to blend into human society, leaving behind those unable to transform. Although their media campaign fails to halt construction, it garners public sympathy, compelling developers to allocate a few small parks for their protection. Yet, these parks prove insufficient for the non-transforming tanuki, who struggle to navigate urban life, scavenging for food amid the chaos of human traffic or embracing the countryside, where they compete with resident tanuki.

In a poignant turn of events, Shoukichi, now living within the human realm, encounters a non-transformed tanuki slipping into a narrow passage. Curiosity leads him to follow, discovering a serene clearing where familiar faces gather. Overjoyed, Shoukichi transforms back into a tanuki, reuniting with his companions. As his friend Ponkichi turns to the audience, he earnestly implores humans to show compassion towards tanuki and other animals lacking transformation abilities, advocating for the preservation of their habitats. The scene fades, revealing a golf course swallowed by suburban sprawl, an eye-opening reminder of the consequences of unchecked development.