Pom Poko (1994).

Pom Poko is about a group of tanuki (Japanese raccoon dogs) trying to win a battle against humans destroying their forest home through city development. In folklore, the tanuki can transform into almost anything, and this film uses that to its advantage. The story continually follows one group of tanuki who live near Tokyo, where a suburban development project is underway. They plan attacks on locals and the workers at the building site, scaring them with ghostly transformations and whatnot. Legendary tanuki elders are invited from other areas of Japan to help stop the land development. Throughout the film, there are a few strong characters which gives the story a more personal feel, as you can relate to them more. This isn't a happily-ever-after film. In fact, the ending is very realistic, in that the animals cannot do much to change the humans' plans. Some end up living amongst humans by transformation, others just struggle as tanuki. What struck me the most is that the tanuki are depicted in three different ways: as realistic animals, as anthropomorphic creatures and as cartoon raccoons. Each form having its own purpose, for example, the realistic form is when they are near humans, cartoony form when they are exceedingly happy and the anthropomorphic for at other times. The mixture of anime style really made this film unique. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Pom Poko, it was light hearted comedy with a relevant serious message. Also, testicles feature prominently throughout, which is due to their integral part of tanuki folklore. So that was lols.