Mes voisins les Yamada

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.

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!

The new Ghibli Studio production, Tonari no Yamadakun, is two years after "Mononoke" a new masterpiece of animation. The story... Well, there is no story. Just a superposition of sequences, each being more hilarating than the preceding. Director Takahata, using computers generated "hand-like" drawings, wanted the result to be as close as possible to the original newspapers comic, and he fully suceeded. In spite of the apparent graphic simplicity, the astounding quality of the animation makes the characters so lively that it seems sometimes more "real" than conventional cell animation.

The yamadas are a typical japanese family, living in the Kansai area (Osaka). They do not speak standard japanese, especially the Granma, so as almost all of the gags are not visual, so if you plan to see it in Japanese, you should have very strong basis of the language. This is one of the most inventive animation movies I've seen since a very long time...

I do not think this is Studio Ghibli's best film, but I liked it because it was different and it still maintained their charm. I do think though out of the English dubs this is one of the weaker ones. Don't get me wrong the voice acting is fine, it's just that the script as has been said before has many references that some mayn't get. That said, it is a very funny and charming film. The animation is excellent, different in a sketchy sort of style but I liked that, and the music is cool. The story is engaging while working at being simple, and the characters are sheer delights, I can never get enough of the grandma. Overall, not their best but I still really liked it. 8/10 Bethany Cox

My Neighbors the Yamadas is a pleasant series of stories that are loosely connected. It's likeable, but it doesn't feel like one cohesive film. I presume this is much like reading the comic strip the movie came from. While I enjoyed the animation and laughed a few times, this probably would have been better suited for a television series.