Pom Poko: A Heart Warmer

I honestly don't know what I was expecting from Pom Poko, but I was so highly pleased with it that I left the auditorium with a "very needed" warm feeling in my chest. Not only was the animation style fun and light hearted, but it also approached the message of "human invasion" in nature in a creative way that could reach out kids. Unlike a lot of other Ghibli films, this film has less of an emphasis on impressive landscapes, instead this film focuses on the representation of folklore through animation. 

I believe that the thing I admire the most about Japanese folklore and culture is their admiration and love for animals. There are shrines and stories dedicated to raccoons, cats, foxes, and virtually almost every animal. That love for animals and nature is lacking in American and Western culture. Sadly, the movie shows exactly what my fear of industrialization and expansion can do: human invasion destroys the life and ecosystems of our earth. Takahata's approach to the message of deforestation is one that should be done more often. Turning these raccoons into individuals with personalities and personal lives, makes the viewers empathize with them. This film was released in 2012, so it is a fairly recent in the light of climate change and deforestation news. Sadly, not much of an impact on Environmentalism policies has been made with this type of work. But in the words of one of my favorite teachers, Tim Rumage, we the artists are the future of this earth and Pom Poko is the kind of message that we should all spreading.

We as humans should be fighting for our planet earth the same way these raccoons fought for their forest. Our planet is our vessel that we have to protect, and that includes all the precious animals we are harming through deforestation.