My Neighbors the Yamadas

I think this is a pretty good animation film.

Some people might not like the animation style, but i think it is refreshing in it's simplicity(i'm honestly sick of the usual "kawaii" very pretty anime style). The "yamadas" are the stars of the show, it all revolves around them and the daily routine of the family members.

Its more like a slice of life thing and it doesn't really follow a plot, but there's an overarching theme that links every short bit of the film together. The message that the film is trying to convey is that family should always be united and try to tolerate their differences.

The tone of the film is always bright, even when they are "fighting" it's comical. So you can watch this with your kids.

This is the best film of Isao Takahata. Director of Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday, and Pom Poko.

Unlike his previous films this one is based off of a Famous Japanese Comic strip(Which is the Family Circus/From Better to Worse of Japan) Not only is it a well known Comic in Japan, it's also has a unique look to it. The animation is all water colored. And it looks like you're really look at a Comic.

What's special about this film is it's the first ever 100% Digitally made film by Studio Ghibli. All the color and finished animation is all done on Computer. Has a lot of CGI in it as well. No Cell Art was made at all! The whole movie is about an average Japanese family facing the Ups and downs of life. Through out the movie they go through quite a bit of struggles and situations.

There's quite a bit of humor and random parts in this film as well.

The English version remained true to the original plot to this film. But it's more like a series of Episodes than a movie. Which is kinda cool.

Jim Belushi is a perfect choice to play Takashi Yamada(the Dad). His voice is so amusing, he's perfect for doing cartoon voices.

Tress MacNeille Voice of Obaba(Nausicaa), Boss's Wife(Laputa), Mrs. Orsono(Kiki), The ship's annoucer/3 old women(Porco), Oroku(Pom poko), & One of the working women(Princess Mononoke) does the voice of Shige Yamada(the Grandma). Tress has been in a lot of the Ghibli films.

David Odgen Stiers get to be the Narrator(another perfect choice) Since he was great as Kamaji(Spirited away) and Piccolo(Porco).

I recommend this film for Ages 6 and up. has a few inappropriate parts. The Dad smokes cigarettes, has a small part with guns but not ones gets killed, and a few adult situations as well.

i like this movie so much, it's worth seeing again and again. It's Takahata's finest and last Ghibli Anime film.

My Neighbors the Yamadas is a wonderful series of short stories based around the misadventures of the Yamada family. Varied in length and tone, you never really know what to expect next. However, while it is indeed a great film, it does have its drawbacks. Chiefly that being the fact that the film is probably too long. Since there is no solid narrative to carry the film through, there isn't a normal sense of pacing, and it can be a struggle for some people to make it all the way to the end in one sitting. Aside from this complaint, the film is still a must see.

Some sequences to watch out for:

The family's young daughter, Nonoko, accidentally gets left behind at a shop while on a family excursion, causing the family to panic. Meanwhile, Nonoko simply waits for them, assuming that her family somehow got lost.

A chase scene in which the father imagines himself as Kamen Rider, the hero of a popular Japanese kid's show.

A scene in which some characters are watching a baseball game on television, and the deceptively simple animation style is used to depict scenes from a real game.

What an amazing movie! I was not expecting it! The story is a very simple one, I would even say this movie has an"episodic" nature because it tells the daily-life chronicles of the Yamadas, some shorter, some longer. However its never dull or boring, all these episodes in the Yamadas' lives felt interesting, funny and refreshing one after another, switching the spotlight of the family members in each one.

The art style is very unusual, sketchy and fits the story incredibly well. It's undoubtfully different than your standard anime visuals, but beautifully hand-drawn nonetheless. I really liked it.

The characters are all superb! To the serious, old fashioned and wise grandma who still thinks she has a lot to give, to the hard-working, day-dreamer and misunderstood father who dreams about breaking the routine and to be acknowledged by his family (that in fact he really cares about). They all have a lot to give and to show through the movie and are constantly being put into ordinary daily-life tasks and obstacles while dealing with them in their very unique and hilarious way.

Overall this movie is nothing more and nothing less than a very funny slice of life, with different and refreshing visuals, superb characters and filled with very interesting and thoughtful scenes (Being the scenes with the Father the best and most enjoyable ones for me ^^). The worst thing about entertainment is getting into it expecting a lot and being disappointed. On the other hand, the best thing about it, is getting into it expecting nothing... and ending utterly amused! For me "My Neighbors the Yamadas" was the best example of that, it was just that great.

If you like light-hearted comedies or a good slice of life and are opened to unusual art, then by all means, watch this lesser-known Ghibli by the genius director Takahata!

While Miyazaki is the best known (and most successful) of the non-demon-fixated/violent-porn anime directors, his sometime producing partner and fellow Studio Ghibli alumni easily equals him in breadth of vision, commitment to art and passionate filmmaking. And although it's Miyazaki who alone seems to possess the Midas touch of his uniquely innocent, melancholic, optimistic, whimsical sensibility, Takahata has arguably pushed the envelope further back in terms of Japan's commercial animation vocabulary. Witness the neo-realism of Grave Of The Fireflies, fearless indictment of globalisation in Pon Poko, and now this utterly charming adaptation of the popular manga, My Neighbours The Yamadas, rendered in a style new to Anime features, but utterly faithful to the original text.

A series of vignettes rather than one overall plot, it is nevertheless easy to find the running time flying past you as you take in the idiosyncratic characters, semi-bizarre situations (although a moment's thought reveals that your family was probably just like this), and beautiful performances (from animators and voice artists alike), finishing with a sense of the family's strength as a unit through a love for each other that's expressed more through their tolerance of each other's peculiarities than in open declarations of affection. And like Grave Of The Fireflies and Whisper Of The Heart, a popular western song that no one of my generation (20s) would ever dream of listening to seriously is made poignant, rousing and brimming with emotion.

Ten out of ten: films this good are rare.