The film is a series of vignettes following the daily lives of the Yamada family. With tales that range from the humourous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems and joys in their own way.
There's a crabby, gleeful spirit to the whole thing, carried along by animated bursts of imagination, snippets of haiku, and spirited song. Amid all the disgruntlement and dismay, there's a sweet we're-all-in-this-life-togetherness.
For all that they are cartoons, the Yamadas never court buffoonery... In fact, it's surprisingly observational, based in the way that people honestly act and feel.
