Yetis are real and have existed for quite some
time, but, why have we never seen one. Well the opening sequence explains
through a series of stones with drawings the mythology and world the Yetis live
in, including having a Yeti each morning sling shoted across town to ring a
gong with his head to awaken a glowing snail to crawl into the sky. That job
belongs to Dongle, voiced by Danny DeVito, it is his son, Migo (Channing
Tatum), that we first meet and introduces us to the Yeti society and way of
life. Migo is excited that he is going to start training to ring the gong
except on his practice flight soars past it out of the village and on the side
of a mountain, where a plane has crashed and encounters its parachuted pilot, a
human, a Smallfoot that is whisked over the side of the mountain by his
parachute. Migo heads to town to tell everyone he saw the mythical Smallfoot
and is stopped by the Stonekeeper voiced by Common. The Stonekeeper wears
dozens of stones each one with a rule or way to live by, one of which is
Smallfoots do not exist and by claiming Migo saw one and it is grounds for
banishment from the village. Banished from his home he learns there are a few
Yetis that believe Smallfoot exists and willing to help Migo descend through
the clouds surrounding their mountain top, under the cloud cover is an entire
world he never knew existed. In a nearby town an Animal Planet like host, Percy
(James Cordon) finds himself struggling to stay relevant with streaming sites.
With an idea to dress his associate up as a Yeti and fake a Yeti sighting to
get views, he stumbles upon a real Yeti that takes him up the mountain to prove
to everyone Smallfoot exist and get himself un-banished. When Migo arrives
home the Stonekeeper takes him deep inside the mountain to explain why the
rules they have exist and that the clouds surrounding their mountaintop is steam
that is created unknowingly by the citizens daily thinking they are just living
normal life. It seems long ago Yetis lived down where humans are, but we’re
attacked by spears and guns forcing them to their secluded mountain top home
where humans can’t survive. Directed by Karey Kirkpatrick (Over the
Hedge;2006), written by the guys behind Bad Santa and based on a book called
“Yeti Tracks” by Sergio Pablos that focuses on a heavy message of question
everything and shows that ignorance is not bliss get muddled into an average
CGI feature film. It’s a relevant message about should you trust everything one
person or system believes is honest and is safety used as a means of control.
Rated PG, I think most of these morals will go over the heads of the main
demographic that is going to see this one. Also, this story of basically
totalitarian society is inside a CGI movie that has some very basic character
design and is a musical with largely forgettable numbers. For many laughs it
results in what I call Looney Toons humor such as giant pieces of mountain
falling on a Yeti or falling from great heights creating character outlines
deep into the snow. This is the 5th film from a Warner Animation Group the
people behind The LEGO Movie, the opening song similar concept, though the level of detail in LEGO did not find itself into
this movie. If you have a young one that has seen a trailer and must see it,
seek out a cheap morning showing and don’t spring for the 3D, while some
landscape shots show the depth of field looking off the mountain it’s not
enough to justify the up charge. This is one I’d say wait till it hits a
streaming service you subscribe to if you can. C.
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| Vanilla Over The Top Milkshake |
