Abominable Review
When teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, she and her mischievous friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him "Everest" and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. But the trio of friends will have to stay one step ahead of Burnish (Eddie Izzard), a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) to help Everest get home.
PG: Some action and mild rude humor
Studios: Universal Pictures, Dreamworks Animation, Pearl Studio
Runtime: 1 Hour and 37 Minutes
Writer/Director: Jill Culton
Voice Cast: Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson, Tsai Chin, Michelle Wong
Release Date: September 27, 2019
Yetis. They’re so in right now. Seriously, how many animated movies centered on yetis are we going to get? Last year you had Warner Animation Group’s Smallfoot, an enjoyable, albeit forgettable, animated comedy centered on a yeti discovering humans. A few months back we had Laika’s Missing Link which centered on a Sasquastch who travels to the home of his cousins, the yetis. Now we have Dreamworks Animation’s Abominable, a story centered on a teenage girl and the yeti she finds on her roof. Out of all the yeti-centric animated movies to be released, Abominable is in the same ranks as Missing Link where the visual splendor of the animation triumphs over the generic storytelling, but it’s still an enjoyable family fare nonetheless.
To go off on a bit of a tangent before I get into it, I'm genuinely glad that this project got to see the light of day given its 9-year production journey. I remember when the film was announced under the title “Everest” (before Universal made their own feature of the same name back in 2015) and how this was being developed around the same time that DWA was working on now-defunct projects Larrikins and Me and My Shadow, which were cancelled once Universal Pictures bought out the studio and changed up their model. While many other interesting projects got their life spans cut short, “Everest”—er, Abominable, thankfully made it out alive. This was very much a passion project for writer/director Jill Culton and she spent nearly a decade working on it. I'm genuinely glad that she, like her central character Yi, persevered and made it through.
The story centers on a teenage girl named Yi (voiced by Chloe Bennet) who, after the passing of her late father, spends her days freelancing and doing various tasks in order to save enough yen to travel to the places in China that her father didn’t get the chance to see. With a preference for being alone and playing her violin — the last gift from her father that she uses as her emotional release — she also intentionally distances herself from her slightly overwhelming, yet well-meaning, mother and grandmother. During one of her music sessions on the roof of her apartment building, she unexpectedly finds a young fugitive yeti on the run from a wealthy yeti-obsessed explorer and a zoologist. With the help of her fellow friends, Yi takes it upon herself to travel to the Himalayas to bring him back home.
I have to give major props to Dreamworks, a studio that markets their films through their celebrity voice casting, for taking the jump and casting all Chinese voice actors as the central Chinese cast. It truly authenticates the setting and the story for proper representation. Each performer does a great job giving their characters enough flair and personality that it keeps you engaged for the most part. One of the most recognizable names in the voice cast is Chloe Bennet as Yi, who you've seen on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and I was impressed by how her voice work perfectly matched the design of her character. They never specify Yi’s exact age, but her voice matches the youth and rebellious-yet-sweet natural traits of the character. It’s far from being as jarring as having Rihanna voice an 11-year-old kid or Kevin Hart as a fourth grader, so… great progress, Dreamworks. Heck, I’m glad they even managed to cast actual kids to voice the other supporting characters. One of my favorites was Tenzing Norgay Trainor as Jin, who is this materialistic, slightly arrogant, egocentric pessimist who tags along for the adventure, mostly for the sake of his cousin. He kept cracking me up throughout because of the constant streak of bad luck he faced, forcing him to buck up and take a few risks. This is probably because I love pessimistic characters who often get the short end of the stick and are forced to jump out of their comfort zone for the sake of comedy… or because his self-absorbed prudish movements and gestures made me chuckle… or because his platonic relationship with Yi was incredibly refreshing in a story set like this. Still, this kid really elevated the movie for me.
Given the landscape of contemporary China, a region no Dreamworks Animation movie has ever charted before (you might correct me by referencing the Kung Fu Panda trilogy, but I mean like… contemporary China), the talented team of animators at the Glendale-based studio, collaborating with the production company Pearl Studios (previously Oriental Dreamworks) in China, do an outstanding job creatively bringing the country to life in their own unique vision. Director Jill Culton passionately showcases the beautiful architecture of the west, from the large-scaled mountain ranges to the small villages and popular landmarks through vibrant, colorful visuals and well textualized environments that are dazzling to watch. There was clearly a thorough amount of research done on behalf of the production. Granted, Pearl Studios is a China-based company, which makes me assume that basing reference for the animators wasn't that difficult, but their love and passion is shown through the set pieces. The art style is gorgeous and each set piece is beautifully animated, mixing Chinese culture with its own whimsical flair, giving this conventional story life and somewhat its own identity.
Besides the art style, I was rather engaged by the character designs of the Chinese leads. I love how they retain the company’s signature bug-eyed features, yet they are still clearly Asian due to their inward oval shape, giving them a unique look and range of expressions. Then, Everest the yeti is irresistibly cute. The texture of his fur and how each strand moves is impressive. If Dreamworks are incredible at one thing, it's creating cute and cuddly creatures that you want to buy a stuffed plush of. Seriously, how do you not want to buy an Everest stuffed plush!?
It's fitting that part of the marketing for the film consists of, “From the studio that brought you How to Train Your Dragon”, for it attempts to recapture some of that magic through whimsical heart-to-heart sequences set in silence as the score sets over, having the two unlikely heroes strike a bond. With the HTTYD series, the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless was on a level much deeper than just a whimsical sequence. It hits those familiar notes well but the relationship between the Yi and Everest isn’t further explored in order for you to get fully invested with them as characters. Beautiful visuals aside, the story is too familiar and plays it too safe to deliver the emotional gut punches it has the ample amount of opportunities to take.
At its worst, Abominable is paced in a manner where it's racing to get to the finish line when it desperately needed to take a moment to let scenes breathe and make room for its emotional beats to hit. The rapid pacing prevents you from getting caught in the emotions they try to reel you in with. It breezes through the winds of conventional storytelling rather than taking the time to deliver its own distinguishable personality to set itself apart from stronger stories with similar plotting. The movie just goes down the checklist of areas, from the obligatory action sequences of the heroes outrunning the baddies, traveling montage with an American pop song playing in the background, and the relative moral themes centered on family, friends, and belonging to fulfill the 90-minute runtime. Not every animated movie needs to be 90 minutes long, and this one of those cases where more time would've been beneficial. All the action sequences are brief, and so are the emotionally moving pieces of Yi cathartically releasing her emotions by playing arrangements on her violin — the moments where the tears can be squeezed. And while it only achieves chills, you feel the longing intention of tears.
Overall, Abominable is cute and falls into the same pool as other animated fares. It's fun for the family and the dazzling animation is the major heft of it all. It may be another forgettable yeti movie, but it has a ton of heart and charm that will leave you and your little one smiling for the time being.
Rating: 3.5/5 | 70%
