Director: Kim Da-hee
Inside every office worker's head, there is apparently a bustling control room of tiny personified emotions — that is the premise animator Kim Da-hee runs with in Yumi's Cells: The Movie, a 2024 feature spun out of the hit Korean webtoon and TV series.
What is Yumi's Cells: The Movie about?
Yumi is an ordinary employee navigating deadlines, relationships, and self-doubt, but the film cuts constantly between her real life and an animated inner world where cartoonish cells argue, panic, and cheer her on from control panels inside her brain. Love Cell, Anxiety Cell, and a whole cast of emotional stand-ins debate her next move whenever a crush texts back or a coworker makes an offhand comment, turning small everyday moments into miniature committee meetings. The mix of live-action footage and colorful animation lets the story stay grounded in Yumi's actual circumstances while still visualizing the messy, contradictory feelings running underneath them. As the film moves through a familiar arc of romantic missteps, workplace pressure, and gradual self-acceptance, the cellular characters shift in number and mood to match, giving the audience a literal map of her emotional growth. It plays as both a workplace comedy and a coming-of-age story, filtered through a visual gimmick that turns internal monologue into slapstick.
Cast & crew
Yoon Ah-young voices Yumi's inner cells alongside a large ensemble including Shin Beom-sik and Song Ha-rim, while the human-world cast rounds out Yumi's circle of coworkers and love interests. The vocal performances lean broad and comic, matching the exaggerated designs of each cell character rather than aiming for subtlety.
Context & significance
Yumi's Cells began as a webtoon before becoming one of South Korea's most popular live-action drama series, and this film extends that universe with a fresh animated-hybrid format rather than simply continuing the TV storyline. The blend of live footage with CG-animated cell sequences carries over the show's signature visual language, giving longtime fans of the franchise a familiar hook while offering newcomers a self-contained entry point into Yumi's world.
Where & how to watch
Yumi's Cells: The Movie can be streamed on K-Time after a free account login, with a Farsi interface designed for Persian-speaking audiences, and Persian dubbing available for this title.