Synopsis
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 humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.
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Cast
- Hayato IsohataYamada Noboru (voice)
- Masako ArakiYamano Shige (voice)
- Naomi UnoYamada Nonoko (voice)
- Toru MasuokaYamada Takashi (voice)
- Yukiji AsaokaYamada Matsuko (voice)
- Akiko YanoFujihara Sensei (voice)
- Kosanji YanagiyaHaiku Reader (voice)
- Tamao NakamuraShige's Friend (voice)
- Chōchō MiyakoGrandma Kikuchi (voice)
Recommendations
- 80
Chicago Reader
The movie is impressive for its even mix of snarky humor and sincere sentiment, and even more impressive when one considers that director Isao Takahata made his name with the harrowing antiwar drama Grave of the Fireflies (1988). - 80
The New York Times
Mr. Takahata’s broad, cartoony family comedy whose smeary watercolor washes and Peanuts-like line drawings don’t follow Ghibli’s house style. The family’s misadventures are standard stuff, but the art is continuously inventive. - 75
The A.V. Club
The domestic humor is often too culture-specific to play for a non-Japanese audience, but Yamadas does have its accessible moments, particularly in the sweet extended opening flight of fantasy. - 70
Los Angeles Times
Rendered in Japanese ink wash, it is a surreal look at nuclear family dynamics. [21 Oct 2014, p.D5]
