What’s with all the animated yetis lately? Last year, we got the decent but forgettable Smallfoot. Earlier this year, we got the stop-motion delight Missing Link. But then Dreamworks animation came up with the new Abominable. How will that work out?
Well, Dreamworks needs something to replace the just-ended How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, so they better hope it works.
Well, it mostly does work, so here we go.
The movie opens with an escape attempt by a small (by yeti standards) yeti in an unidentified Chinese city. The movie shows the escape largely from the yeti’s POV, and when we do see him, it’s mostly in shadows. Eventually, he hides on a rooftop.
Said rooftop is for an apartment building, and one resident there is one Yi. Yi is a hardworking young woman who seems to be something of a loner. She may have a thing for wannabe lady’s man neighbor Jin. But, to the movie’s credit, there really isn’t a romantic subplot to see here. Yi’s father died at some point in the recent past, and her one goal is to take a trip across China that her father plotted out once. As it is, Yi will be taking a trip because it isn’t long before she both finds the yeti (that she names Everest after the mountain he calls home). The rich man who was holding Everest captive wants him back.
So, this was a fairly fun movie all told. I wouldn’t call it an all time great, but the animation was crisp, the humor largely worked, and the character were likable if not entirely original. Yi and Jin follow familiar character beats even if none of them are romantic. Jin’s young cousin Peng, also along for the ride, makes for a nice playmate for Everest while Yi treats him in a more parental manner than anything else. He’s not a pet or a friend to her, so he’s not Toothless to her Hiccup.
That said, there was one character who seemed a bit original and had a nice character arc. That would be the rich guy who was holding Everest captive when the movie started. Mr. Burnish (voiced by Eddie Izzard) has some interesting character turns that don’t follow the pattern a viewer might expect of him.
All told, this was a good movie for kids that probably won’t bother adults too much.  8.5 out of 10 whooping snakes.
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