More
- Preamp, Processor or Receiver
- Yamaha TRS-7850 Atmos Receiver
- Other Amp
- Peavy IPR 3000 for subs
- Universal / Blu-ray / CD Player
- Panasonic UB820 4K UHD Player
- Front Speakers
- Cheap Thrills Mains
- Center Channel Speaker
- Cheap Thrills Center
- Surround Speakers
- Volt 10 Surrounds
- Surround Back Speakers
- Volt 10 Rear Surrounds
- Subwoofers
- 2x Marty subs (full size with SI 18's)
- Rear Height Speakers
- Volt 6 Overheads
- Video Display Device
- Sony 85 inch X950H FALD TV
Pom Poko
Movie:![3.5 Stars :3.5stars: :3.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3.5_stars.png)
Video:![4.5 Stars :4.5stars: :4.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4.5_stars.png)
Audio:![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Extras:![2.5 Stars :2.5stars: :2.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/2.5_stars.png)
Final Score:
Movie:
![3.5 Stars :3.5stars: :3.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3.5_stars.png)
Video:
![4.5 Stars :4.5stars: :4.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4.5_stars.png)
Audio:
![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Extras:
![2.5 Stars :2.5stars: :2.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/2.5_stars.png)
Final Score:
![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
As of this last year Studio Ghibli has officially cut ties with Disney proper for their releases and have moved over to Shout Factory as their new distributor. Over this last month they have released 8 of their original titles that were given to Disney, and are in the works to redistribute just about all the rest of their titles (minus the ones licensed to Universal and Up on Poppy Hill and Grave of the Fireflies), INCLUDING the single title that even Disney couldn’t get. My Neighbors, the Yamadas. I missed the opportunity to review for you all 8 titles that were released on the 17th of October, but over the course of the next month or so there will be another set of batches that are coming over via Shout, and I’ll be putting those out for you. Disney did some great stuff with their Studio Ghibli releases, but there were a small handful of titles (such as Princess Monnonoke) that had subpar subtitles as Disney used “Dubtitles” (translations of the English dub) vs. traditional direct translations from the Japanese language tracks that REALLY frustrated purists (myself included). With these new releases, Shout Factory and Studio Ghibli have worked together to rectify those small issues and re-release their lineup on Blu-ray once more at a substantially lower price than Disney was able to.
The final movie in our binge of Studio Ghibli films is a long forgotten and almost obscure little film by the director of the upcoming movie The Tale of Princess Kaguya. The early 90’s film was one of his first in the Studio Ghibli lineup and still remains one of the most unique (if not downright strangest) of the collection. It’s what I lovingly refer to as “that raccoon movie”. Pom Poko takes a goofy, but somehow deeply saddening look at the industrialization of Japan and the effects it has upon the creatures of the land. Some parts of the movie tend to be a bit bloated and stumble along, others are sweet and innocent as a child, and others delve into deeply disturbing material (at least for small children).
In the 1960s Japan was struggling to keep up with the population growth of its country, so the nation spent an enormous amount of money and energy to start building more high-rise buildings and expanding its cities into the surrounding countryside to keep up with the growing human population. This tale tells the story of one particular place called Tama hills, an area that is home to a group of raccoons who have lived there for centuries. The raccoons see the destruction of their home and realize that they have to fight back. It seems that raccoons have the mythical power of transformation and utilize this power to fight back against the encroaching humans. It starts out as simply working on transforming into different shapes and forms in order to scare the humans, but this changes when they realize that the humans aren’t easily scared. Gunto, the most aggressive of the raccoons wants desperately to start a full scale war against the humans, but is kept under a tentative level of control from the elders Oroko and Seizaemon. When it is clear that their efforts are not as effective as they might have hoped, the elders send for the great transformation masters on distant shores.
Their war efforts increased 10 fold by the inclusion of the transformation masters, the feisty little raccoon’s plans seem to be working. Only they come to realize that the price that their transformation carries almost too late. Raccoons have been able to survive because they keep a low profile. The humans are kept blissfully unaware of their transformative abilities, but only because the raccoons have kept the transformations under wraps. With the increased exposure and proclivity of the rebellion, humans are now starting to notice that something hinky is going on. Now full-fledged confrontation is imminent and it’s unclear if the raccoons are up to the task.
The lessons in the story are important, whether you are a full-fledged environmentalist or not. However, the manner in which it is told has some flaws in it that hamper Pom Poko from being one of the better Ghibli movies. Isao Takahata directs a visually striking and extremely detailed film, but the excessive running time feels a bit bloated and unwieldy. I felt as if there could have been about 30 minutes less of the film and the point could have gotten across without losing as much steam as it did in the process. A movie about raccoons fighting back against the humans doesn’t sound like it should be a 2 hour film, and really that two hours was a bit too much. I enjoyed the little nuances in the film in regards to the raccoon lives, but after a while the battles and pranks that they employed got a bit excessive and sometimes a little bit repetitive.
Rating:
Rated PG for violence, scary images and thematic elements
Video:
![4.5 Stars :4.5stars: :4.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4.5_stars.png)
Audio:
![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Extras:
![2.5 Stars :2.5stars: :2.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/2.5_stars.png)
• Promotional Materials
• Trailers
• Exclusive Booklet
Final Score:
![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Pom Poko is one of those Studio Ghibli titles that I honestly had almost forgotten about. It’s about as remembered as My Neighbors, the Yamadas and The Cat Returns in the archives, but still is a rather interesting trip down memory lane. A very whimsical and unique trip at that. While it isn’t one of the greatest of the series, it certainly is faithfully presented on Blu-ray with fantastic technical specs and certainly deserves a watch for fans of Japanese Animation. While I usually tell everyone to give it a watch or a buy, this is one of the few that I would honestly recommend a rental first, as it is one of the strangest of the entire Studio Ghibli lineup. The Shout Factory edition is once again the superior version of the movie (and the only one in print as the Disney edition is fetching some serious coin online). There's not MUCH different, but the new cover art is great and the Shout Factory included little booklet is a nice little extra to have. If you've already got the Disney disc, then I would say your upgrade necessity depends on how much those dubtitles annoy you if you're an original language purist (it wasn't so bad with Pom Poko as with others Disney released, but still rather annoying). For those who DON'T have the disc, then I highly recommend checking it out.
Technical Specifications:
Starring: Shinchô Kokontei, Makoto Nonomura, Yuriko Ishida
Directed by: Isao Takahata
Written by: Hayao Miyazaki (Idea) Isao Takahata (Screenplay)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0, Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0, French DD 2.0
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: PG
Runtime: 119 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: February 6th, 2018
Recommendation: Check It Out
Last edited: