Understanding the Movie Monkey-Wrenching Raccoons
The anime movie entitled Monkey-Wrenching Raccoons is one of the many legendary full-length animated films that is written and produced by a great Japanese director and animator named Isao Takahata. This animation, which is also known as PomPoko, as its more popular Japanese title, is just one of the many genres, Isao Takahata, on animation.
Officially released in the year 1994, Isao Takahata’s masterpiece Monkey-Wrenching Raccoons or PomPoko has turned to be one of the classic Japanese anime, which does not only have the purpose of entertaining but also educates the viewers as its main story tells about environmentalism and ecology (Monkey-Wrenching Raccoons: Pom Poko). Apart from the other early animations that Isao Takahata has written and produced, this animated film Pompoko is of totally different mood and type as compared to the thematic wars, romance, comedy and dramatic animations that Takahata has made in the early part of his career (Pom Poko).
This film Pompoko or also known as Monkey-Wrenching Raccoons, in its English released DVD adaptation, basically tells about the profound story between the people and animals, wherein the two are considered to be equal creatures that are entitled to living in this world. In this movie, Isao Takahata tackles the conflict of interest and evident differences between the people and animals in claiming for their equal share in aiming for a decent and healthy place to live in this world.
Thus, the film also tells about the real importance and stance of environment in the lives of all the living beings that are relying on making a living in this world. Set to start in the year 1960’s in Japan, the time where social development are starting in the country, the film Monkey-Wrenching Raccoons tells about the story and struggle of a group of Tanuki or better known as Japanese Raccoon Dogs whose livelihood and existence is threatened due to the enormous and relentless pursuance of industrialization in the area where they used to have their living and a small community of relatively identical class.
This picture of events continues and resumes in the year 1990’s where the industrial project called Tama New Town is near its completion that modernizes a community in the outskirt of Tokyo, which is referred to as the Tama Hills. Throughout the series of events in the film, the picture of conflict and struggle between the people and the group of Tanuki serves as the main direction of the tale and the same goes with the continuous take over of Industrialism in the entire area where the group of Tanuki has established their community and made a living.
In this regard, it can be said that the over-all experience of the movie is touching and emotional as it illustrates how the people and the presence of industrialism is destroying and/or badly affects the habitat and way of living by these animals who are, in a sense, the original and/or the early living creatures to have lived in this world. The representation of the environment, on the other hand, is profound in such a way that the people and/or the viewers would clearly absorb the real message of what the film has to say.
The environment in this movie is used a paradigm to honor and recognize the equal rights and treatment between the animals and the people as living beings in this world who needs a place and habitat for their living. Thus, the presence of environment, in this movie, is used to depict that the world is made to cater and support both the existence of humans and animals.
In the end, the most adored part of the movie is the fact that it serves as a metaphor in promoting equal rights of animals in preserving their habitat despite the spur of industrialization and/or modernization, while the least aversion is that the conflict and battles between the animals and humans, in terms of upholding their rights to the land where they established a living, has to be highlighted and that lives have to be sacrificed before recognizing what is right and proper for the humans and animals.
Works Cited Monkey-Wrenching Raccoons: Pom Poko. Eckerd College. Last Updated: February 22, 2009. <http://www. eckerd. edu/eff/index. php? f=pompoko> Pom Poko. Danielthomas. org. Last Updated January 26, 2006. <http://www. danielthomas. org/pop/film_reviews/pompoko. htm>
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