My Neighbors The Yamadas

Rating PG Formats DVD Genre animated Starring Jim Belushi, Molly Shannon, Tress MacNeille, Daryl Sabara, Liliana Mumy Directed by Isao Takahata Publisher Buena Vista Home Video External Links Official Site

he Studio Ghibli film, My Neighbors the Yamadas or Houhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun, is an uncluttered collection of contemporary vignettes capturing the goings-on of an ordinary middle class family in Japan. The movie's non-linear collage of stories offers a candid look into the Yamada household. The Yamadas are Takashi, the pauncy father; Matsuko, his equally rotund and bumbling wife; the harpy, elderly grandmother Shige; and Nonoko and Noboru, the two pesky children.

Yamadas has a patience of storytelling and animation that is rare in a market obsessed with gaudy, hyper-voiced anime. This is no Fooly-Cooly. You won't find mecha with human souls, hip-hop samurai or weepy, doe-eyed girl space pilots. The animation's toned down, bare-minimum style encourages the viewer to focus on its deeper themes of familial love, woe, aggravation and commitment.

Scattered throughout the vignettes like blossoms are haikus and lean, traditional Japanese poems. The juxtaposition of poetry with each short story is often quite profound and touching. In one piece, Takashi is outside enjoying a late fall day when it begins to snow softly. Excited, he tries to rouse his family from their zombie-like preoccupation with the television set. Ironically enough, they are all raptly watching imagery of figures trying to negotiate a snow storm. Takashi gives up and takes a sad, lonesome photo of himself outside in the snow. Afterwards, while he wanders away across the yard grumbling about the cold, this poem appears:

A lone figure, back turned, receding into the mist.

It's placement inside the silently falling snow as Takashi walks away somehow unifies the scene and leaves one feeling more sympathetic to Takashi's character. The outcome is nearly magical.

The stories can also be amusing, as the family's wacky, sometimes dysfunctional temperament is revealed. Takashi and Matsuko bicker over television programs as their child and mother look on. During a family outing, everyone is too busy shopping and gossiping to notice that little Nonoko has been left behind at the store. Takashi pompously offers his son, Noboru, a sip of saki and is outraged to discover that the smug kid has already tried it. The family blunders through generational differences, household responsibilities and marital disorder with a consistently funny yet discomforting outcome. The Yamadas are hilarious because they're very real and familiar. A viewer can easily pick out Yamada's that are like family members of their own.

Though the stories are well told and the characters dynamic, not all viewers will enjoy this movie. The slow pacing may be boring to some children, and the simplicity of the animation may seem too juvenile for some adults. Others may find the montage narrative style confusing or frustratingly unfocused, and die-hard anime lovers may be thrown off by the movie all together. Though it's definitely an unusual film, it will find its niche with anyone who's looking for anime that offers richer writing, character development, and non-fantasy themes.