A community of magical shape-shifting raccoon dogs struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by urban development.A community of magical shape-shifting raccoon dogs struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by urban development.A community of magical shape-shifting raccoon dogs struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by urban development.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 1 nomination
Shinchô Kokontei
- Narrator
- (voice)
Makoto Nonomura
- Shôkichi
- (voice)
Yuriko Ishida
- Okiyo
- (voice)
Norihei Miki
- Seizaemon
- (voice)
Shigeru Izumiya
- Gonta
- (voice)
Takehiro Murata
- Bunta
- (voice)
Beichô Katsura
- Kinchô Daimyôjin the Sixth
- (voice)
- (as Beichou Katsura)
Bunshi Katsura VI
- Yashimano Hage
- (voice)
- (as Bunshi Katsura)
Akira Kamiya
- Tamasaburô
- (voice)
Tomokazu Seki
- Male Tanuki B
- (voice)
Megumi Hayashibara
- Sasuke
- (voice)
Rin Mizuhara
- Ofuku
- (voice)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOfficial submission of Japan for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 67th Academy Awards in 1995.
- GoofsThe English-dubbed version incorrectly refers to the tanuki as "raccoons". Tanuki are actually "raccoon dogs" - they are in the canid branch of mammals.
- Alternate versionsThe English dubbed version censors all references to testicles.
- ConnectionsFeatured in AMV Hell 3: The Motion Picture (2005)
- SoundtracksAjia no Kono Machi de
(In this Town of Asia)
Lyrics by Kôryû
Music by Yôko Ono
Vocals & Performance by Shang Shang Typhoon
Featured review
While Tokyo swells and expands, clearing forest to accommodate its housing needs, a nearby tribe of free-spirited tanuki (Japanese raccoon-dog) hatches plans to defend its turf. That's the intention anyway, if everyone would just sit still and pay attention long enough to chart a course of action. Fortunately, they do have one ace up their sleeve: the long-fabled (and nearly forgotten) ability to shape-shift. Once unlocked and understood, this plays heavily into the tanuki's efforts to subvert construction crews - destructive pranks, mostly - but also their day-to-day appearance.
Effective animation is essential here, and Studio Ghibli is up to the task. Depending upon the critters' moods, they'll slide from super-realistic to ultra-expressive, often several times over the course of a single scene. Ghibli makes it all feel smooth and natural, enhancing the important bits with their usual assortment of small details and charming body language.
There isn't much to the story - all the fun is in the light spirit, zany transformations and oafish nature of the animals - and that's a problem as the duration grows and the climax remains elusive. It holds on for way too long, repeating the same beats three or four times too often. The first hour is a wonderful blast of unbridled creativity and innocent attitude, peaking in a wild parade scene that rivals the one in Paprika, but I was ready for it to end at least half an hour before it did.
Effective animation is essential here, and Studio Ghibli is up to the task. Depending upon the critters' moods, they'll slide from super-realistic to ultra-expressive, often several times over the course of a single scene. Ghibli makes it all feel smooth and natural, enhancing the important bits with their usual assortment of small details and charming body language.
There isn't much to the story - all the fun is in the light spirit, zany transformations and oafish nature of the animals - and that's a problem as the duration grows and the climax remains elusive. It holds on for way too long, repeating the same beats three or four times too often. The first hour is a wonderful blast of unbridled creativity and innocent attitude, peaking in a wild parade scene that rivals the one in Paprika, but I was ready for it to end at least half an hour before it did.
- drqshadow-reviews
- Jun 29, 2020
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $372,405
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $107,909
- Jun 17, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $1,279,218
- Runtime1 hour 59 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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