A slice of life comedy-drama, the film stars Hayato Isobata, Masako Araki, Naomi Uno, Touru Masuoka, Yukiji Asaoka, Akiko Yano, and Kosanji Yanagiya.

These vignettes cover such issues as losing a child in a department store, the relationships between father and son, or husband and wife, the wisdom of age, meeting one's first girlfriend and many more.

Takashi and Matsuko's relationship is often the focus of the episodes, their rivalries, such as arguing about who has control of the television, their frustrations and their difficulties, but the overriding theme is their love for one another despite their flaws, and their desire to be the best parents possible for their children.

To achieve that, the traditional paint-on-cel techniques were replaced with digital technology, making Yamada-kun the first Ghibli film to have animation drawings painted entirely on computers.

Ryan Lambie of Den of Geek awarded the film four stars and said, "Anyone expecting the soaring beauty of a typical Studio Ghibli production will probably be a little bemused by the mundanity of the Yamadas' existence, but there's a soothing calm to their daily struggles, a haiku-like sense of tranquillity.

My Neighbors the Yamadas was released on DVD in America on August 16, 2005, alongside another Takahata film, Pom Poko by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.