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Poster for Pom Poko

Pom Poko

Seen it?

1994 | 119 min | Adventure, Animation, Fantasy

Saturday Special

Why it’s a Saturday Special

It earned strong reviews (86% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it's still drawing plenty of interest. A strong pick for the weekend.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for fantasy fans, adventure fans and animation lovers. If you loved Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, start here. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
The mood
Feel-good.
The pace
Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 59 min.
What might put you off
  • Rated PG. Worth a look first if you have very young kids.
  • It's in Japanese, so expect subtitles (or a dub).

The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans in hilarious circumstances.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsStrong

    86% on Rotten Tomatoes, 77 on Metacritic

  • AudiencesSolid

    7.2 out of 10

  • AwardsBelow par

    2 wins and 1 nomination from smaller awards and festivals

  • Box office & staying powerSolid

    $44 million worldwide; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactStrong

    About 186K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Directed by Isao Takahata

  • Makoto NonomuraShoukichi (voice)
  • Nijiko KiyokawaOld Fireball / Oroku (voice)
  • Shigeru IzumiyaGonta (voice)
  • Norihei MikiSeizaemon (voice)
  • Yuriko IshidaKiyo (voice)
  • Megumi HayashibaraSasuke (voice)
  • Yumi IchiharaKoharu (voice)
  • Akira KamiyaTamasaburo (voice)
  • Takehiro MurataBunta (voice)
  • Gannosuke AshiyaInugami Gyobu (voice)