Hôhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun (1999)

The life and misadventures of a family in contemporary Japan.

Director:

Isao Takahata

Writers:

Hisaichi Ishii (based on the comic strip by), Isao Takahata (screenplay)

Stars:

Yukiji Asaoka, Tôru Masuoka, Masako Araki

Cast

Credited cast:
Yukiji Asaoka	...	Matsuko (voice)
Tôru Masuoka	...	Takashi (voice) (as Toru Masuoka)
Masako Araki	...	Shige (voice)
Hayato Isohata	...	Noboru (voice)
Naomi Uno	...	Nonoko (voice)
Akiko Yano	...	Ms. Fujiwara (voice)
Kosanji Yanagiya	...	Haiku Poem Reader (voice)
Tamao Nakamura	...	Shige's Friend (voice)
Chôchô Miyako	...	Grandman Kikuchi (voice) (as Chocho Miyako)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jim Belushi	...	Takashi (voice) (as James Belushi)
Jeff Bennett	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Alex Buck	...	Additional Voices (voice)
A.J. Buckley	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as AJ Buckley)
Dixie Carter	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Erin Chambers	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Storyline

The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humourous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems and joys in their own way.

---

Plot Keywords:

wedding | neighbor | kidnapping | speech | retirement | 

---

Taglines:

The ups and downs of life.

---

Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is Studio Ghibli's first 100% digitally animated film. Director Isao Takahata wanted the art style of watercolor pictures, which needed digital technology to get the style right.

---

Quotes

[Mother discovers that Noboru brought home a book on F-1 racing]
Noboru Yamada: It's your fault, for starting me with "Power Rangers" ABC when I was three...

---

Connections

Referenced in Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

---

Soundtracks

Wedding March, Op. 61-9
Music by Felix Mendelssohn

User Reviews

A very nice film, but difficult to take all in one sitting.

My Neighbors the Yamadas is a wonderful series of short stories based around the misadventures of the Yamada family. Varied in length and tone, you never really know what to expect next. However, while it is indeed a great film, it does have its drawbacks. Chiefly that being the fact that the film is probably too long. Since there is no solid narrative to carry the film through, there isn't a normal sense of pacing, and it can be a struggle for some people to make it all the way to the end in one sitting. Aside from this complaint, the film is still a must see.

Some sequences to watch out for:

The family's young daughter, Nonoko, accidentally gets left behind at a shop while on a family excursion, causing the family to panic. Meanwhile, Nonoko simply waits for them, assuming that her family somehow got lost.

A chase scene in which the father imagines himself as Kamen Rider, the hero of a popular Japanese kid's show.

A scene in which some characters are watching a baseball game on television, and the deceptively simple animation style is used to depict scenes from a real game.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

17 July 1999 (Japan)

Also Known As:

My Neighbors the Yamadas

Box Office

Budget:

JPY2,000,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tokuma Shoten, Studio Ghibli, Nippon Television Network (NTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1