The first movie to come from a US-China collaboration with Dreamworks and Pearl Studios, Jill Culton’s story of the rescue of a very fluffy yeti does not provide any ground-breaking new ideas but it does provide 97 minutes of suspense, emotion and adventure with a handful of laughs thrown in for good measure.
Opening with a video game-style P.O.V scene, we see the furry subject of this film, Everest (Jospeh Izzo) make his daring escape from a sinister compound within Shanghai. To evade recapture, he finds shelter on the roof of an apartment block where our teenage protagonist Yi (Chole Bennet) lives.
Yi may seem like a typical teenage girl however the self-proclaimed ‘loner’ is doing all she can to raise the funds to undertake the trip through China planned with her father before his passing. It’s while playing her father’s violin in her rooftop den that she discovers the fugitive yeti and determines that despite his size, he is just a child stolen from his parents. Ultimately, Yi decides to help him back home to his parents on Mount Everest after which he is named however, such a task will not be so simple.
A Familiar Yet Exciting Adventure
Everest has escaped from the nefarious clutches of the disgraced explorer Burnish (Eddie Izzard) who has charged renowned zoologist Dr Zara (Sarah Paulson) with capturing this unique creature to display to the world. For a villain, it’s hard to take Burnish seriously with his toddler-like tantrums however his mob of lackeys certainly provide some comic relief with their incompetence.
It’s during the mob’s first failure to capture Everest that Yi’s selfie-obsessed childhood friend Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor, whose grandfather coincidently was one of the first climbers to reach Everest’s summit) and his basketball playing cousin Jin (Joseph Izzo) are brought along for the ride, much to Jin’s reluctance as this would likely result in getting his expensive trainers dirty.
Throughout this film, it’s hard to forget that this came from the same studio that produced ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ with the parallels that can be drawn between them. A teenager distanced from their family through loss and an adorable yet idiotic creature with incredible powers which needs help.
However, Abominable provides the well-told yet captivating tale of loss and healing in a beautiful manner with its captivating musical score delivered through Yi’s violin playing whilst also addressing the modern teenage issue of social media through Jin’s laughable addiction to his beloved smartphone.
The delivery of this rather straightforward tale is simply stunning with the colourful renders of the landmark sights between Shanghai and Mt. Everest doing to China what Lord of the Rings certainly did for New Zealand. Elements of Chinese culture are also well delivered through the pork bao cooking grandmother Nai Nai (Tsai Chin) to the status associated with becoming a doctor.
Comedic moments are littered gratuitously throughout without taking from the seriousness of the main message of family through the entertainment of the whooping snakes (They’re very rare apparently!) to the childish quirks of Everest and Peng as they play together.
More Than Meets the Eye
Although I’ve highlighted the lack of innovation in this film, it certainly does provide more than meets the eye beyond cuddly CGI fur and the giggle-inducing snake whoops throughout. The exploration of the grief of losing a loved one so young is portrayed honestly yet gently with a young audience in mind through Yi.
Her obsession with remaining busy, honouring her plan to explore China with her father, and distancing herself from her family subtly demonstrates the effect of the loss of someone important while not minimising its seriousness which makes Abominable stand out as an animation. Through delivering Everest home to his own family that Yi herself finds her home again with her mother (Michelle Wong) grandmother, Nai Nai.
While Jin provides some comedy with his image and smartphone obsession, a minor point about the impact of social media on teenagers is made. His progression throughout the film from complaining about getting his trainers dirty to giving away his smartphone to help Everest, Yi and Peng send the clear message of how little social media means in comparison to your real-life friends and family.
Regardless of the obvious plot, the cuteness of Everest and the cast of other adorable creatures within Abominable cannot be overstated, alongside the multitude of witty one-liners, which together will certainly keep viewers both young and old amused throughout make this one of this year’s most fun animations.
Verdict
Despite the familiarity of this film to those who have seen ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, Yi, Peng, Jin and the goofy Everest provide a heart-warming story of the importance of family with some whoops thrown in for good measure.
