Product Description

Walt Disney Home Entertainment Presents A Studio Ghibli Film. Join in the adventures of the quirky Yamada family -- from the hilarious to the touching -- brilliantly presented in a unique, visually striking comic strip style. Takashi Yamada and his wacky wife Matsuko, who has no talent for housework, navigate their way through the ups and downs of work, marriage, and family life with a sharp-tongued grandmother who lives with them, a teenage son who wishes he had cooler parents, and a pesty daughter whose loud voice is unusual for someone so small. Even the family dog has issues! Experience the little victories in life with MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS -- featuring the voice talents of comedic stars Jim Belushi and Molly Shannon.~(c)1999 Hisaichi Ishii · Hatake Jimusho · GNHB (C)Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24010 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2005-08-16
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, Japanese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 104 minutes

Amazon.com
Although it's technically a feature film, Isao Takahata's My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) plays like a series of comedy sketches or sitcom episodes. The Tokyo household of Takashi and Matsuko Yamada includes their son and daughter, Noboru and Nonoko, Matsuko's cranky mother Shige, and their lumpish dog. Stolidly middle-income and middle-class, the Yamadas have a family life that falls somewhere between Married... with Children and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Affectionate but undemonstrative, they rarely face crises more challenging than a lost umbrella or what to have for dinner. But they manage to find (or create) drama within their humdrum existence: the struggle for the TV remote becomes a stylized battle that spoofs karate matches; when a girl calls Noboru, his mother and grandmother cling to him like remoras. Many of the Yamadas' adventures end with an elegant haiku. Does Basho's "How cruel, a grasshopper trapped under a warrior's helmet" really apply to Takashi Yamada? He thinks it does. Much of the film's charm comes from the loose, cartoony style that suggests pencil lines and watercolor washes. (Rated PG, Parental Guidance Suggested: Mild thematic elements) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

this review refers to the movie (DVD not yet released)
Created after an idea of the popular Japanese comic book author Isaichi Ishii, this movie tells nine amusing and moving episodes from the every day life of a "totally normal" Japanese family.
Mischievousely, "My Neighbours, The Yamadas" describes the problems and quarrels that raise from marriage and generation conflicts. Thus, the author paints the lively and colourful portrait of a family who is an explosive mixture of eccentric, yet highly sympathical individualists.
At the same time the wonderfully drawn movie doesn't lack depth. The poesy of every day life which filters through the lives of the Yamadas is summed up at the end of each chapter in an haiku (most of them by Basho). Being a basic part of Japanese culture and spirituality, these short poems fit the respective characters' philosophy excellently.
A deeper symbolic dimension opens to the viewer in the partially grotesque/surrealistic scenes of the movie. A flashback shows us the Yamadas as honeymooners riding a gigantic wedding cake. Long married, they try vehemently to get the upper hand in the daily quarrel over the TV programme and both fight virtuousely in Japanese fencing style over the remote control.
"My Neighbours, The Yamadas" premiered extremely successfully in 2000 at the Anime-Festival in Annecy (France).

Yamada Family Values
This quirky comic strip family is lovingly brought to life in Houhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun (My Neighbors the Yamadas). Mom (Matsuko), Dad (Takashi), Grandma (Shige), Noboru and Nonoko, and family dog Pochi are presented in a series of vignettes, from Matsuko and Takashi's wedding (complete with a dream sequence comparing marriage to a bobsled run and being tossed on stormy seas), to a forgetful day (blame the ginger!), to a hilarious nighttime encounter with motorcycle punks. The animation style is very low-key, taking its visual cues from pen-and-ink comics and a pastel wash. Less is more, as the mere outline of shoji screens and sakura (cherry blossoms) suffices to paint a minimalist picture of modern Japan. Poetry by Basho rounds out each clip. This is a wonderful introduction to Japanese culture, from proper dining etiquette (DON'T dump your rice into your soup :-), to Japanese homes (noren, airing out futons, place settings, traditional food such as miso, tamago, and tempura, changing into slippers when entering homes) wedding ceremonies, and more.

Some reviewers have mentioned that the stories lack cohesiveness, but I greatly enjoyed this unusual portrait of family life that looked at parent-child relations, marriage, salarymen, and the power of imagination. Although Disney dubbed this with an all-star cast (James Belushi, David Ogden Stiers), I didn't listen to the English dub, so I can't comment on the English cast (I prefer to view anime in the original Japanese with English subtitles to practice my Japanese listening comprehension). A vast departure from other Takahata Isao films (like Grave of the Fireflies), but an enjoyable one nonetheless, particularly if you are already familiar with elements of Japanese culture.

EXTRAORDINARY PORTRAYAL OF AN ORDINARY LIFE....ANOTHER STUDIO GHIBLI TRIUMPH!!!
My neighbors the yamadas portrays suburban middle class life as it is in Japan or any other part of the globe for that matter. Directed by Isao takahata, this experimental studio ghibli film is unlike any of their previous films. A collection of short vignettes, showing everyday life of yamadas family, My neighbors the yamadas wears a newspaper comic strip look. It lacks all the usual detail, fine lines and photorealistic backgrounds of other ghibli films without losing any depth or appeal. Digitally achieved watercolor wash look works just fine for the style of the film and makes it visually striking and different from any other work studio has ever done.

My neighbors the yamadas is filled with humor, satire, grief and quite possibly everything else a middle class experiences. Everyday life incidents you can relate to and situations you can identify with, mentioning any of which here, may spoil the fun for those who havent seen the film.

Lets look at the dvd now. My neighbors the yamadas happens to be the only studio ghibli film released by disney as a single disc dvd. Presented in anamorphic widescreen, picture quality of the disc looks absolutely crisp and flawless and so is the sound. As usual, both English and Japanese tracks, rendered in dolby digital 5.1 are available on the disc. English dub featuring the voices of Jim belushi, Molly shannon and others doesnt disappoint and is quite decent. Bonus features include a "behind the microphone" featurette (approx 6 minutes) showing the english dubbing process and original trailers and tv spots which run a little more than 15 minutes. Fans of rough animation would be delighted to see the first trailer, which shows one complete segment from the film in line drawings without any colors filled. Movie has been rated PG for mild thematic elements.

Only disappointing thing, few may find, about this disc is the storyboards. Unlike all previous ghibli releases, there's no entire storyboard version of the film here. Instead, for some strange reason, it is a gallery of tiny sketches which you cant even enlarge. Inspite of it all, a worthwhile disc and a great buy too, just for the main feature itself.

With an experimental film like my neighbors the yamadas, studio ghibli has once again proved how versatile their artists are and how simple, yet unusual and globally appealing, their choice of subjects could be. My neighbors the yamadas is a simple and beautiful, fun-filled film without any sugarcoating or modern day formulas.

A great disc to watch and own.