What a wacky world this is. I mean, the more I watch this, the more nothing makes sense. No, I'm not talking about FLCL or EXCEL SAGA, but the latest film by Takahata Isao (GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, ONLY YESTERDAY) titled MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS.

Based on the manga by Ishii Hisaichi, the movie centers on the trials and tribulations of a simple family, including Takashi and Matsuko (the parents), Shige and Nonoko (the children), Noboru (the grandmother) and Pochi the dog.

Then again, nothing's really simple with the Yamada family. This Region 2 DVD comes with clear white English subtitles in the letterbox area, but even those didn't totally help me understand the story here. Although it did concentrate on central characters, their exploits went all over the place. Even a trip to the grocery store winds up being an adventure for the family. It's like the writer just cut loose with his imagination and dropped the viewer into a freefall of exposition, resulting in the most unpredictable experience I've ever had from viewing a Ghibli film.

Earlier, I compared YAMADAS to a couple eccentric titles. I realize now I may have been in error. One on hand, Takahata's screenplay has some of the over-the-top elements of KARESHI, KANOJYO NO JIJYO (A BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND SITUATION), like pop-up shots, interwoven text and a couple chibi scenes. It also has intentional sketch lines, shifting segues and very basic color usage. I mean, there aren't too many hue variations. Everything looks like moving watercolor pictures, even though Takahata used nothing but computers to make the film.

This general color scheme makes YAMADAS feel like a PEANUTS cartoon. Yes, I mean the one by Charles Schultz starring Charlie Brown and the gang. PEANUTS was a slice-of-life work reflecting childhood life in the eyes of adults. I truly believe this is the focus Ishii placed into YAMADAS (well, this and a couple other elements too Japanese for me to understand just yet.) I ended up having fun just absorbing the emotions put into the movie, and came to remember that not all films need to have a point.

I also enjoyed looking at the extras that came with the disc, such as the Ghibli film montage and the one for CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO, both of which give me great hope for Region 2 discs of Takahata and Miyazaki's works. (Now if only Buena Vista would work as hard to get these discs to Region 1 fans.)

In addition, I got to look at some beautiful storyboards and pencil sketches as well as a piece of YAMADAS manga. When I also consider the various types of audio supplied on this disk (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, DTS 5.1 Surround), I have to conclude MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS is the most enjoyable Region 2 experience I've had to date, one I liked even more so than many of my Region 1 titles. I just hope the upcoming AKIRA release can match this effort.