My Neighbours the Yamadas

Director
Isao Takahata
Production
Studio Ghibli
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Running time
104 mins
Year
1999

My Neighbours the Yamadas

By Adam Cook
20th May 04

My Neighbours the Yamadas has broken new ground for Studio Ghibli and for anime film in general. Made in 1999 and directed by Isao Takahata (his previous films include Grave of the Fireflies), My Neighbours the Yamadas is based on the 4 panel manga created by Hisaichi Ishii. But why has it broken new ground for anime?

Well firstly it is the first animated feature by Studio Ghibli to totally embrace computers. Studio Ghibli and especially Hayao Miyazaki have always been vocal on their concern for using computers to animate, feeling that a computer can still not match the artistry of a hand drawn image. However to animate in the same style of the manga the film is based upon, traditional hand drawn techniques was not offering the right look. To produce the watercolour effect in My Neighbours the Yamadas and to achieve some of the more complicated scenes in the film a computer was necessary.
Secondly, the film has a very unique visual style that I have never seen in a feature length anime film before. Takahata has stayed very faithful to the source material using simple, and often crude looking character designs. This however offers a lot of freedom for the artists as the characters could be easily manipulated and transported in to 'fantasy' sequences in which more detailed and realistic characters would become a hindrance to the telling of the short stories.

The films plot is best described as a collection of short stories and every day occurrences that the Yamada family goes through. There is no overriding narrative or thematic message that the film is trying to put across to the audience. Its structure, just like its visual style, stays very faithful to the manga. It is refreshing to see a film of this type, one that does not rely on a strong narrative to tell a story. However if as a film maker you are to attempt such a structure it is important to keep the audiences interest in each and every short tale and vignette, whilst also portraying characters of depth. This is where My Neighbours the Yamadas falls a little short. The films structure is its boldest move yet also its weakest attribute. The fact there is no narrative means that an audience's attention can wander away from particular scenes as they will not miss an important piece of information pertaining to the plot. I found myself on several occasions looking away from the screen when a particular story did not interest me any longer. A narrative helps bind a film together, when that has gone it is much harder to keep the audiences interest for the whole duration of the movie. As a result of there being no plot there is also very little character development. There are no character arcs so to speak, and whilst some of the characters may have learnt a valuable life lesson by the end of the film the development of the characters is not at the forefront of the movies agenda. Again this is a hindrance for the film. Perhaps I have become too accustomed to the conventions that most films follow, but the development of characters is often crucial to the success or failure of a movie.

The short stories are a collection of comedic observations and poignant insights that most family members can appreciate irrespective of the cultural divide. The jokes however are never more than whimsical. There were no scenes in which I laughed out loud, and unfortunately a number of the jokes were predictable and others I had seen numerous times in other manga and some western comic strips. At 104 minutes in length, My Neighbours the Yamadas was far too long to sustain my interest. The fact that the film is structured in smaller stories does afford you the luxury of watching the film in several sittings, but the film was made to be watched as a single entity and it began to test my patience as obvious gags were prolonged well after I had worked out what the punch line was going to be.

The visuals appear to be very simple yet this belies often very intricate and complex scenes that on occasion are stunning (especially the scenes early on in the film). There are a number of bizarre and imaginative fantasy scenes in which other graphical styles are used to denote the transition from the Yamadas reality into fantasy. The changes in visuals are handled perfectly, and by using computers the whole film has a wonderful watercolour effect that makes the movie totally distinctive from other animated features. Whilst I am sure the visual style of this film will put some viewers off I felt it to be the strongest asset the film had, and a style that should be applauded as it is certainly not likely to appeal to the masses.

My Neighbours the Yamadas is a tricky film to review. On the one hand you must admire the artistry of the visuals and the bravery of staying so faithful to the manga both structurally and visually, but you can not escape the fact that the film can become a chore to watch. Its structure offers no emotional involvement on behalf of the audience and lacks any dramatic impact that results in a collection of hit and miss stories that would have perhaps worked better as a short series rather than a feature length movie. Therefore it is a film of successes and failures unfortunately there are one too many failures to warrant me watching this film again.

-- Adam Cook 20th May 04

My Neighbours the Yamadas Images