Experiment 626 (which may, or may not be Stitch's real name) is an event embarked upon by the I'm With Geek Film Team. Film knowledge was unearthed, truths were found and a DVD exchange took place. These are the true life stories from that experiment.
Dear Graham
Pom Poko. A Studio Gibli animation where Raccoons have learnt to become shape shifters and try to stop the Japanese people from destroying their home in the forest. Based on the fact that Graham seems to appreciate intelligent films with quirky humor and often a lot of heart I recommend this unusual but very good film, quirky and poignant, and have a strong prominent style - the director and studio seemingly having an autuer quality to their work. Much as David Fincher has with his or of course Wes Anderson does with his.
Love, Dave
Graham's Review
I’ve always been skeptical about Studio Ghibli’s much vaunted praise; a place held alongside Breaking Bad and Marvel’s current cinematic reign of success (the latter albeit held with some trepidation). Scepticism was an inappropriate opinion to hold without at least giving the benefit of the doubt and watching one of their films to completion, and not judging from the snippets I caught whenever My Neighbour Totoro or Arriety would appear on TV once in a blue moon.
Fortunately this was not the case. Whilst I may not be as enamoured of Studio Ghibli as other people I know, Pom Poko is a rather entertaining and unique movie that holds a strong green message within its frames.
The story of the film is somewhat absurd. A clan of shapeshifting raccoons wage guerrilla warfare against the humans in order to defend their land from the encroaching urbanisation of the nearby city. The main protagonist is Shokichi, a young raccoon who quickly becomes a leader in the resistance movement for his skill at transforming himself, he provides the voice of reason against the more hotheaded Gonta and acts as an advocate for more peaceful solutions. As the resistance movement makes progress, they reach out to other raccoon tribes to help train them further in the art of shapeshifting.
Alongside the environmental message, the film draws many parallels with numerous Civil Rights movements across the globe, such as the Suffragette movement of the early twentieth century and the American Civil Rights movement of the 50s and 60s, with two factions of the raccoons acting as advocates for peaceful resolution and violent retribution. The film attempts to show a modicum of equality between the two paths, depicting the more immediate successes of the brash, violent methods being tempered by more genteel practices. The film’s ending of capitulation and integration between the two species can be viewed as a metaphor for the final outcomes of numerous civil actions, where the desired outcome has not necessarily been met, but is a slow step in the right direction.
Pom Poko was a lot more fun than expected, but felt a little too rushed to adequately tell the story. It has changed my opinions of Studio Ghibli from tepid to warm, and has made me want to try watching some of their other films.