Pom Poko

Aired: 1994

A 1994 theatrical anime produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Isao Takahata, released in July 1994. Set against the late-Showa development of Tama New Town, the film chronicles tanuki (raccoon dogs) who revive their ancestral art of transformation and launch a five-year campaign to resist urban encroachment on their forest home. Mixing humor, pathos and a mock-documentary tone, the ensemble fantasy nostalgically examines nature, development and a changing Japan. A signature work of Takahata, it won the Japan Academy Award for Animation of the Year and many other honors.