Pom Poko is currently streaming on HBO Max

Pom Poko (1994)119 minAnimationRating 70/100

The tanuki spend their days playing idly in the hillsides and squabbling over food -- until the construction of a huge new Tokyo suburb clears the nearby forest and threatens their way of life. In an effort to defend their home, the tanuki learn to transform into humans and start playing tricks to make the workers think the construction site is haunted, ending in a spectacular night-time spirit parade, with thousands of ghosts, dragons and other magical creatures descending on the city -- in an abundance of fantastical characters that would not be matched on screen by Studio Ghibli until Spirited Away.

Cast: Makoto Nonomura, Nijiko Kiyokawa, Shigeru Izumiya, Norihei Miki, Yuriko Ishida, Megumi Hayashibara, Yumi Ichihara

Director: Isao Takahata