Pom Poko

Renowned animation director Isao Takahata spins this tale about a pitched battle between Japanese folkloric figures and housing developers at the edge of the Tokyo sprawl. The tanuki -- a badger-like creature often portrayed with big round eyes, a large Buddha-like belly, and long pendulous testicles resting by its feet -- is a beloved figure in Japanese myth, viewed both as a fun-loving bringer of fortune and a shape-changing trickster. Pom Poko opens with a group of tanuki fighting amongs...