Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation powerhouse that boasts a lucrative North American distrbution deal with Walt Disney Pictures and the first-ever Best Animated Feature Oscar for 2002's Spirited Away, pretty much depends on two individuals for their creative output: Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Of the two, Miyazaki has garnered the most notoriety, having been the primary force behind Spirited Away as well as other favourites such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, and most recently Howl's Moving Castle. His films have significantly contributed to the studio's magical and whimsical gloss; they are often tales derived from fantasy or mythology with characters who are in some manner supernatural or superhuman.

Then there is Takahata. Always quieter but no less respected, his function is arguably as important as Miyazaki's. The more he has continued to make movies, the more I have realized that his role in the studio has been to emphasize mundane human experiences and feelings, both minor and hugely consequential, and the personal and intimate ways by which they reveal themselves. Previously, this tack has delicately balanced the warm and humourous with the stirring and mournful, all the while being decidedly contemplative and serious despite a focus on predominantly adolescent characters. The animation style, too, has tended more toward the realistic than the fanciful. So given this taut interplay, Takahata's most recent film, 1999's My Neighbors The Yamadas, is a departure of sorts (both thematically and visually), though it remains true to his sensitive precision. It is sincere and wise, fraught with various interpersonal dilemmas, but the manner in which it is so is goofy, witty, heedlessly imaginative, and brimming with glee.

Based on a popular homegrown comic strip, My Neighbors The Yamadas observes the Yamada family - father, mother, son, daughter, grandmother, and dog - in their daily misadventures. Think The Simpsons seasoned with some For Better Or Worse and you should have a fairly accurate idea of what speed this family is at. Instead of a
straightforward linear storyline, the film is told in a series of short episodes that are faithful to its newsprint origins. And where Takahata's other films have largely transcended the medium of animation, using it as a convenient means for conveying a particular message, My Neighbors The Yamadas is happily aware that it is a cartoon and revels in it.

Each of the sequences are delightful and often tinged with an unusual degree of poignancy for the material that appeals to people of all ages. Consider two such stand-out scenes. The first is near the beginning; Noboru, the son, has raised the metaphysical question of what it means to be. His parents insist that had they not met, Noboru would never have been born; he asserts that he would have simply been some other family's kid, that his identity is independent of his parents' influence. We're then treated to a fantasy flashback which charmingly answers that question, suggesting that Noboru's very essence is indelibly linked to his parents and emphasizing the importance of family bonds. The second scene occurs much later. The Yamada parents are disturbed by a motorcycle gang causing a disturbance outside their home late at night. When Matsuko, the wife, asks her husband to approach them, he sheepishly goes about the task but cannot muster up the courage to face them. It takes Shige, the grandmother, to get things done, and how she does is remarkable for its uncanny instinct and penetrating candour. It was after watching these two scenes, more than any others in the film, that I knew I was watching something special. Here is one of those rare films that ventures beyond merely entertaining its audience, or even informing or educating it; it shows us how we can be better people.

If there is any criticism to be had it's that the serialized nature of the film makes it feel loosely strung together. After it ended, I had the impression of having watched an introduction to the Yamada family rather than a fully-formed feature. However, it is certainly a credit to Takahata and the film that I was left wanting to get to know them more. Whether we will ever be treated to a continuation is, sadly, uncertain though probably unlikely. The film was a flop in Japan upon its initial release and made a negligible impact internationally. What's more is that six years have passed and Takahata has yet to contribute to any further Studio Ghibli animated projects (although an upcoming unnamed project is currently rumoured to be in production). The upside is that the film will have a fresh chance to find a new audience with the recent Walt Disney Pictures release of the film on DVD in North America. Along with Pom Poko, another Takahata animated Ghibli feature being restored on DVD, Disney's revival may hopefully garner him additional acclaim and success. It is certainly well-deserved. Just like Shige, the peppy upstart of a grandmother who perplexed and drove away the noisy biker gang with sage words of truth, so too has the elderly Takahata shown with My Neighbors The Yamadas that he is fearless when it comes to engaging his audience in a novel manner and still capable of imparting wisdom whether or not anybody is paying attention.

(This film will be released on DVD on August 16, 2005, and may be rented from Spin-It Video Rentals, located at 15 Lewis St. in Moncton.)