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 pesky daughter whose loud voice is unusual for someone so small. Even the family dog has issues!
Inspired by a popular newspaper four panel strip cartoon, Yamadas will remind North American audiences of Charles Schultz’s Peanuts more than any other Ghibli production. The visual style is completely different from Isao Takahata’s other films; it feels like a sketch. Storywise, too, it’s really just a series of vignettes. All this makes My Neighbours the Yamadas something of a palette cleanser as Ghibli went into the new millennium.
Look for Spirited Away, the next installment of our complete Studio Ghibli retrospective, over the Easter Weekend.
Please note: this film is available in the original Japanese with English subtitles only
Presenting Partner
Media Partner
Isao Takahata
Japan
1999
In Japanese with English subtitles