My Neighbours The Yamadas

Although I said in my review of Laputa: Castle in the Sky that Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki are virtually synonymous, there have been some outstanding films made by other directors working within the studio such as Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1986), Pom Poko (Isao Takahata, 1994) and Whisper of the Heart (Yoshifumi Kondō, 1996. My personal favourite of these is Grave of the Fireflies, an outstanding film that is equal to any other animated film made in the 20th century yet the animation style couldn't be more different to that in My Neighbours the Yamadas, made nine years later, also by Isao Takahata.

This film follows the Yamada family, husband and wife Takashi and Matsuoka, their mother/mother-in-law Shige, their teenage son, Noboru and young daughter Nonoko, plus Pochi, their dog. From the title, I thought this would be told from the perspective of their next door neighbour but it isn't, with the film comprising a series of vignettes focusing on different aspects of family life and told either from the perspective of a family member or completely objectively.

It opens with Noboru introducing you to his grandma, who stops by a neighbour's front garden and begins looking at some flowers before being extremely complimentary about one. When the gardener tells her what type of flowers is, she replies that she wasn't interested in the flower and was talking to the caterpillar! She isn't your ordinary old woman but, much to her daughter's frustration, is displaying some signs of dementia and her odd behaviour occasionally drives her to distraction.

Over the course of the various chapters, each introduced by a caption and, if you're watching with the English dub, some narration, giving the title which is a clue of what to expect. Over the course of the film, we see Nonoko being left behind at the department store and her family's frantic search fare when they eventually notice she isn't in the car, Noboru flunking his exams and desperately studying in order to remedy the situation, Takashi trying to bond with Noboru over a game of catch in the back garden and Matsuoka's culinary skills (the film begins with Noboru asking what's for tea and, when the answer is curry, observing his mother has cooked that for the past five days.


My Neighbours the Yamadas is unlike any other Studio Ghibli film I've seen, partially due to the comic strip-like animation which is extremely different to the rich tapestries of Hayao Miyazaki's film and even the finely detailed and extraordinary graphic visuals in Grave of the Fireflies -- I would have never guessed that this was directed by the same man who made that brilliant and heart-wrenching war film. In content, this is quite light with some broad humour, such as when Noboru dismays at his sister's voracious appetite for all things cake and chocolate related but also some dry humour verging on satire when it comes to their relationship with the next door neighbour and an odd solution to the problem of where to hold a croquet match.

I hadn't seen the front cover until after I saw the film and didn't read up about it in order to go in as open-minded as possible so the animation style, content and extremely small scale (there is none of the epic grandeur of Miyazaki's films) took me a little by surprise. However, it wasn't long before the film warmed on me because of its wonderful observational humour, well rounded and engaging characters and repeated gags, such as Pochi's repeated appearances, permanently laid in his kennel with a world weary expression on his face.


The voice acting, in both the original Japanese and English dub, is very good, with the cast in doing a perfect job of matching the actor to the character. I'm not familiar with any of the Japanese actors, but they all make their characters come to life. In terms of the English language cast, the mother and father are played by Molly Shannon and James Belushi, respectively, and they do a terrific job. Prolific voice actress Tress MacNeille, whose name many will recognise from her appearances on The Simpsons and Futurama, is very well suited to the grandmother whilst the two child actors, Daryl Sabara and Liliana Mumy, are very well suited to their characters.

Overall, My Neighbours the Yamadas is extremely watchable and charming film with surprisingly effective animation considering its simplicity, great characters and a smart screenplay with some great observational humour.

The Disc

Extra Features

The disc contains the usual assortment of Studio Ghibli extra features comprising:

Storyboards is, rather disappointingly, not the option to watch the film with storyboards in a pop-up window (as on Laputa: Castle in the Sky), plus a selection of 344 different storyboards which have to be manually navigated through. They don't appear to be vastly different from the finished film, given the simplicity of its animation, but it's worth looking at a few as I really couldn't be bothered looking through all of them.

NTV Special Program: Super TV "15 Months Exclusive Coverage: Secrets of My Neighbours the Yamadas" (45:25, HD) was clearly made in 1999 for an hour-long special on NTV and one of the myriad features of this kind you find from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and other Asian countries which can devote time and resources to a homegrown film. It isn't your typical EPK piece, going further behind the scenes and securing more interviews than a 10-15 minute making of and contains interviews with members of the cast and crew, looking at the voice recording sessions and other aspects of the production.

Behind the Microphone (5:30: HD) contains interviews with the actors who provided the English dub track, talking about their characters along with footage of the film and of them at work in the recording booth.

Finally, there are several TV spots, the Original Japanese Theatrical Trailer and Studio Ghibli Collection Trailers (Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind, Ponyo, Howl's Moving Castle, Tales from Earthsea and Spirited Away).

Also, with this being a Double Play release, it contains both a Blu-ray and DVD so it's perfect for households where the living room has a HD setup and DVD players in the bedrooms so you can watch it as a family downstairs or let your kids watch the DVD upstairs. If you are considering buying a Blu-ray player in the near future, the price difference between this and the DVD release is so small it's worth buying this in order to future proof your collection.

The Picture

As mentioned, this is a unique film amongst the many which Studio Ghibli has produced over the last three decades due to the simple line drawn animation and sparse use of the disc that it will colour. The AVC 1080p picture is probably not the sort of thing to showcase your HD setup but it does allow for remarkably crisp lines without any hint of edge enhancement and the colours, which are almost like watercolours on a painting, aren't exactly vibrant - as they are designed that way - but they are very clear and solid.

It took me a while to get used to this type of animation in a Studio Ghibli film and, though it could have been made with much more expansive, colourful and detailed animation, the simplicity of the comic strip aesthetic apparently stays true to the source material. Furthermore, the story has now action sequences or anything but requires a more dynamic visual approach so, in that respect, the visual style is very well suited to the story and screenplay.

The Sound

You have the choice of DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese or English but, as with the visuals, neither are the busiest or most expansive soundtracks you'll ever hear. As this is a predominantly dialogue dominated film, most of the sound comes from the centre channel with occasional use of the surrounds which are, for the most part, completely dormant.

The score, by Akiko Yano, varies from very subtle background music to something that is far more energetic and overwhelming, such as when there is an action set piece and even to the unforgettable ending when everyone sings a Japanese version of Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)!

The subtitles are clear, easy to read and free from spelling or grammatical errors.

Final Thoughts

When My Neighbours the Yamadas began with a girl's voice over a developing pencil drawing of her grandmother, I had no idea what I was watching and how it would turn out. My initial impression was of a fairly simplistic film designed to children but I couldn't have been more wrong as this is an extremely well written and animated film that is likely to appeal to children and adults alike due to the mix of broad comedy and satirical sideswipes at the family unit. I don't think it's the best film that has ever come from Studio Ghibli, but it is of an extremely high standard that doesn't, in any way, damage its good name.

The BD is very good with a decent, though not stellar, variety of extra features and the AV quality is extremely good despite this not being the sort of film that will really give you the 'wow' factor that will come with other animated features. If you're a fan of Studio Ghibli films and are unsure whether to buy this or not, I would throw caution to the wind and opt for a blind buy - it may not grab you the first time, but it's the sort of film that will grow on you with repeated viewings. This