My Neighbors the Yamadas
Director: Isao Takahata
Year Released: 1999
Rating: 3.5
Warm-hearted film - done with computers to simulate simplistic cartoons - about a family and the comedy and tragedy in their daily lives. Told in a series of vignettes instead of a traditional storyline - but better off for it - it talks about the small things in life, like forgetting your things at home on the way to work, dealing with bullies, trying to impress girls, and so on that so many films seem to ignore or bypass altogether. It always tries to look at the optimistic side of things - no matter what - and even the more pessimistic pieces are treated with humor. It's both beautiful and poignant - a real treasure.
