My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)

[ホーホケキョとなりの山田くん]

Director: Isao Takahata
Starring: Hayato Isohata, Masako Araki, Naomi Uno

Synopsis:
The daily struggles of the fractious Yamada family.

Impressions:
This is a very fun and very funny slice-of-life comedy. Perhaps the closest thing I could compare it to is Azumanga Daioh. You have a series of vignettes strung together with no real overarching plot. Most of it is simple comedy, but it does touch on some more serious themes in places. Most of the humor comes from the family's general laziness and tendency to bicker and snipe at each other, but it's all light-hearted with no real malice behind it, so it's easy to enjoy. The art style is consistent with the newspaper comic strip that serves as the source material. This makes it a significant departure from most Ghibli films, but Takahata tends to be more experimental with his films. For light entertainment and plenty of laughs, this is one for the collection.

Rating:
Own It