Pom Poko [Blu-ray + DVD]

The raccoon antics hit just as hard as I remember from the VHS days, and the Blu-ray's extra DVD copy is perfect for lending to friends who still use an old player. Takahata's knack for blending silly slapstick with a genuinely heavy message about habitat loss comes through beautifully here.

I’d seen this Ghibli film years ago on a fuzzy VHS rip, so picking up this Blu-ray was like rediscovering the whole thing—the forest scenes are so crisp you can almost smell the leaves. The eco-warrior raccoons are as hilarious and heartbreaking as I remembered, and the deleted storyboard extras are

The video and audio transfer here is crisp enough to make the raccoon transformations feel even more chaotic and fun. I’ve watched this Ghibli classic twice already since it arrived, and the ecological message hits just as hard now as it did years ago.