Charles Herold (cherold) This rather odd movie is what happens if you take a bunch of comic strips from a newspaper and animate each strip, then play them one after the other for an hour and a half. Sequences are often less than a minute, and rarely especially funny. There are some longer sequences, as when the family leaves the little girl behind in the shopping mall, but once again, the laughs are less than 1 per minute.I rather like the sketchy animation style, although I wouldn't go so far as to say I love it. But I could only take the lack of a story, the generic characters, and the weak jokes for the first half hour before giving up.Some people here have suggested the humor is cultural, and perhaps if your Japanese this movie is hilarious. But then a lot of user reviews here say it's hilarious, so perhaps like a lot of comedy it's just funny to some people and not to others. For me it's just boring.

hayashimegumi My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) follows the simple yet comical lives and adventures of the family of five; the characters are quite adorable and some of the vignettes are just so funny. This beautiful pastel colored film full of family gag is never shy to depict the antics of the characters and the daily crisis of family lives. The condition of the family may look difficult but it is not completely dysfunctional as they lived happily together. The first thing that comes to my mind is that this film has an impressive artwork. Its visual style is not just different from most of the Studio Ghibli productions but most of the animated features produced around the world which makes it really unique. It's really amazing to watch how short and simple comic strips can turn into a feature film by a series of vignettes. However, this film lacks a vital storyline that could connect all of the vignettes. As a whole, it may feel lengthy if it has moved to the ones that doesn't make you laugh or keeps you interested. Nonetheless, it is a recommended watch if you loved comedies, family- themed or slice of life films. Although most of the scenes are usually amusing, they also come with important underlying messages for you to discover.PS. What would happen if Nonoko meets Shinnosuke, say, kindergarten transfer? ;)

Leofwine_draca MY NEIGHBOURS THE YAMADAS is a completely atypical movie for Studio Ghibli and probably their most unusual movie to date. The hand-drawn animation seems crude compared to the more elaborate outings directed by Miyazaki, but the simpleness of cartoon characters does grow on you as the film goes on.Essentially, this is a series of comic vignettes showing the various misadventures of an ordinary family living in Japan. Although there are a few fantasy sequences as the characters imagine themselves floating through the air or going on wild adventures, for the most part it's humdrum and realistic. The humour comes from the ditzy characters and the things they get up to, particularly the crazy old grandmother.Those looking for plots about saving the world or battles between heroes and villains are likely to be disappointed by the ordinariness of this one, the matter-of-fact way the film develops and the distinct lack of any kind of storyline. However, I found it quietly charming in its own unique way, and it's certainly a distinctive movie, so there are things to recommend it - if you know what to expect beforehand and prepare your mindset accordingly to take a step back and just enjoy the minutiae of everyday life.

Tweekums This is one of the less well known Studio Ghibli films which is a shame as it is delightful and rather funny. Unlike most films their is no real plot, in fact there is no story arc at all, just a series vignettes showing incidents in the lives of the eponymous Yamada family. Some of these like the one where they leave Nonoko, the young daughter, at the shopping mall go on for several minutes and others such as the very funny part where son Noboru has what his parents think is his first glass of sake are under a minute long.As with Isao Takahata's other Ghibli films this will probably appeal to adults far more than children; while it doesn't contain anything unsuitable for youngsters I suspect they might find the subject matter boring. The animation style is totally different from any other Ghibli film or indeed any other animation I can think of. The computer animation looks like a water-coloured comic strip, with fair less detail than usual; this might make it sound inferior but it actually works surprisingly well for the subject matter.While the episodes are humorous they are almost all the sort of things that could happen in any family, the only ones that aren't are fantasies such as the father imagining himself to be a masked super hero or illustrative such as the charming opening where we see the family taking a fairly fantastical journey. I certainly recommend this for any older Ghibli fans.These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.