My Neighbours The Yamadas (Animated) (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Beautifully animated, entertaining and amusing in places
Disadvantages:	Slightly too long  -  perhaps not to everyone's taste

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I myself hold the belief that Japanese animation is often over-looked in this country, with the majority of people unaware of the wonderful styles of animations and of story telling available from Japan.
One of the better-known animation-houses that is known over here is Studio Ghibli. Renowned for their particularly style of animation, they've had a significant amount of success having exported several well-received movies into the west. Movies such as 'Spirited Away', 'Kiki's Delivery Service' and 'Whisper Of The Wind' have all had English scripts and soundtracks written and recorded for them and have struck a chord with both western fans already into the genre, as well as people who may otherwise have simply considered them as 'cartoons'.
One of the key features about Studio Ghibli's movies is that they are rarely aimed solely at children. Whilst it's easy to considered and dismiss them purely as 'cartoons', they often have great depth and appeal that goes beyond age and as such can be enjoyed by whole family's, children, or even just adults who enjoy "good drawings".

'My Neighbours The Yamadas' is a stylistic move away from the animation usually associated with Studio Ghibli. According to the blurb on the back of the DVD, writer-director Isao Takahata used "…digital production to create the feel of a moving watercolour sketch."

The movie is about the lives of the Yamada family, which consists of the mother and father Matsuko and Takashi, their young son and daughter, as well as Matsuko's live-in mother.
In some ways, the movie is also a move away from the typical Studio Ghibli style of story telling. Rather than being one long plot, the movie is more a series of short 'episodes', with each one having it's own title and voice-over introduction. The closest I can relate it to are the early Goofy cartoons by Walt Disney, where Goofy would learn to do something from a book and each chapter was announced. In that sense, 'My Neighbours The Yamadas' is similar in terms of its story-telling; however the overall story telling is quite unique to itself in my mind.

At first I was a little surprised by the animation as it initially looked a little crude and not what I would expect from Studio Ghibli; however, very quickly I found that the simplicity of the style, with only the minimum amount of lines drawn was very effective. Equally, the animation itself is beautifully done and I found myself thoroughly enjoying the visuals. I think young children will be captivated by what's on screen, but equally older children (and adults for that matter) will still be impressed by the animation and style of the movie.
Takahata's attempt at a moving watercolour is a fantastic idea and one I think he has managed to achieve. Whilst the drawings may be a little simplistic in places, the actual feel and movement of the movie is enjoyable and it makes for a refreshing change to the typical style of anime. I actually quite enjoyed this more simplistic style of animation and, whilst movies such as 'Spirited Away' are more "realistic" in their style, 'My Neighbours The Yamadas' is so beautifully drawn that it is just as engaging and entertaining as any other anime I've seen.

I was also a little surprised by the change in story-telling; but again, I found myself actually enjoying these little 'episodes' of the daily lives of the Yamadas and although there isn't what you would call a typical plot to the movie, the overall flow of the movie is well paced and executed. I also found it to be both funny and touching in places too. I suspect that some people may be put off because of the lack of a 'Beginning, Middle and End'; but as I've said, these sections are well paced and
Not only is the script well written, but the performances from the actors are superb too - actually among of the best I've heard for quite some time in many ways. The English version has the voice talents of Jim Belushi, David Ogden Stiers and Molly Shannon, (and I'm sure the grand-mother is played by the ever talented Tress McNeille) I thought the interactions between characters and delivery of lines was first-rate.

One minor criticism I do have of the movie is that it goes on slightly too long and part of me does think it might be better suited if it had been a series of "short stories", or if there was a greater overall theme to the movie. With a runtime of 104 minutes I felt the movie could have done with being perhaps ten minutes or so shorter. I don't know whether, for children, it would be able to keep their attention all the way through. Certainly I myself found that, whilst I wasn't getting bored necessarily, I wasn't giving the movie my full attention right towards the end.

The DVD itself contains one disc. Like similar discs, the menu is well produced and nobody would have any trouble finding his or her way around it.
In term of bonus material, the disc is fairly sparse in terms of additional content. Like other discs from the Studio Ghibli Collection, it doesn't come with any booklets and, whilst there are some 'Special Features', they're not particularly impressive. The Special Features are: -

- Original Storyboards
- Trailers
- Studio Ghibli Trailer Reel

I personally would have liked an interview with Takahata, given that 'My Neighbours The Yamadas' is such a vastly different style to other animations from the company. However, I managed to pick this up for about six pounds or so whilst it was on offer from Amazon and, for that reason, I'm not overly disappointed, coupled with the fact that this is what I've come to expect with all the Studio Ghibli Collection DVDs.
I do think if you'd paid closer to ten pounds or so, then you'd probably be a little disappointed by the Special Features; if, however, you can pick this up relatively cheaply, then I don't think there's an awful lot to complain about.

One thing I do always enjoy about the Studio Ghibli Collection is that they also include the original Japanese soundtrack, (with English subtitles). This gives the viewer the opportunity to see how the English script differs from the original and I for one have always found it interesting to see this.

Whilst perhaps not to everyone's taste, I think this movie has great appeal to a wide-ranging audience. If you're a fan of Japanese anime, then this is an interesting and different style to what you might be used to and is well worth watching for the animation alone. Equally, children can enjoy this by themselves, or the whole family can sit and watch, with everyone appreciating different aspects. Adults will probably relate more to the comedy and overall script than very young children, but there is equally enough 'slap-stick' like moments that children should also be able to laugh throughout the movie.

If nothing else, I would recommend this movie purely because of how different it is to others in the genre. Certainly one I would watch again, despite its flaws.