It doesn’t help that this is a very purposefully episodic film, divided into vignettes about modern Japanese family life.
Nestled between two of the biggest hits in the history of the company — Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away — is this family comedy from the underrated Isao Takahata, the co-founder of Ghibli, who doesn’t get the attention lavished on his longtime business partner Hayao Miyazaki. Takahata often worked better in a more serious register ( Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Kaguya), and his sparse visual style when compared to Miyazaki makes for a comedy that feels a little slight. It doesn’t help that this is a very purposefully episodic film, divided into vignettes about modern Japanese family life. While there are elements that keep this culturally distant for American audiences, and it doesn’t transcend its genre like the best Ghibli, one can still see Takahata’s deep empathy in Studio Ghibli’s first completely digital film.