Pom Poko

Late 1960s Japan. A housing shortage in Tokyo sends construction crews to the Tama Hills on the outskirts of the big city in POM POKO. Developers will put up thousands of new houses, hoping to accommodate the expanding population. But the Tama Hills have been the lifelong habitat of an extraordinary breed of raccoons. Japanese legend has it that these raccoons (tanuki) are capable of magically shape-shifting, transforming themselves into any creature on the planet, even mythical ones. The raccoons know that for their species to survive in its natural home, the construction must be stopped. Led by an array of colorful, food-obsessed, fierce, and heroic leaders, the raccoons embark on a multifaceted campaign to cut the development down in its tracks. The resident raccoons of Pom Poko unleash every kind of prank, battle, shape-shifting, and scare tactic they can muster to stop their enemies. Some tricks are comic, some outrageous, some mean-spirited, some awe-inspiring. Along with their efforts over several years, the raccoons mature, disagree, fall in love, and multiply. When at last it appears the raccoons may be able to delay the project but that human progress cannot be contained, they up the ante even further, willing to risk everything, even their lives.