Item: Abominable
Rating: 5
Author: Matt Rooney

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Plot: After coming across a massive Yeti on her roof, the young Yi, with the help of some friends, sets out on an adventure to get the fluffy creature back to his natural home, and all before some nasty corporate people get to him first.

Review: The snowy white Yeti at the center of the new animated movie ABOMINABLE is very, very, undeniably fluffy and cute. I imagine it has to be fluffy, what with being from one of the coldest places on Earth – and in fact – some of the posters feature makeshift fur, providing you with the opportunity to walk up and feel just how soft and warm he is. No, I can’t imagine a single child, and maybe even some excitable parents, walking away from this latest from DreamWorks without screaming in delight about how adorable and sweet this new creature is. What's a shame is there isn't much else to gush about once the credits have rolled, with too much of the movie's beauty and uniqueness undermined by an abundance of well-worn animated movie fare.

The adventure kicks off when said Yeti, soon to be named Everest, escapes from his very secretive, high-tech enclosure because someone just left the door open. Soon, he’s brought together with a young girl named Yi (Chloe Bennet), who has been closing herself off from her family after the passing of her father and, while telling her family she gave it up, sneaks off to the roof to play the violin, and enchantingly so. As these kinds of movies are often to do, the two set off an incredible adventure to get him back to his home on Mt. Everest – alongside her being some comic relief in the young Pang (Albert Tsai) and the occasional foil in her cousin Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor).

As cute as Everest is, he’s not quite the kind of character with a lot of meat in the complexity department, so that’s where Yi has to step up to be the real star. She’s a gifted musician, adventurous and supposedly in a lot of pain over losing her father, with whom she would play music with. She blocks the pain and tries to save up money for an adventure the two meant to take by working odd jobs around town, all while avoiding her concerned, but loving mom and grandma. Contrary to the top of the paragraph, though, the second Everest and she come together the majority of the story revolves all around the furry creature, with any and all conversations between characters and the bulk of all the momentum centered all around him, his personality and getting him home safely. Bennet does some solid work in the voice role, but she doesn’t have much to work with when all Yi and other characters get to do is react to Everest and his abundant silliness as they leap from one expensive, animated set piece to another.

Those set pieces are aplenty and are often driven by the fact Everest has a magical power that allows him to control nature, brought to life by a gentle humming noise. This entails parts of nature, from rolling hills of flowers, lakes, and bushes of blueberries blowing up to enormous sizes and pushing the story forward. These moments will certainly dazzle, what with the landscape of modern China often brought to life with rich detail and beautiful textures, coming alive the best when the characters are in the most remote locations. The simple beauty of the animation is diminished by the messy action, though, and on that front, it pales in comparison to the spectacle and animation of some other DreamWorks movies, like HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3 earlier this year. That being said, when the visuals get a chance to settle and breathe some scenes do provide this typical adventure with some scope…all before the colorful visuals are again hitting you with the energy of a sugar rush come to life.

So, if the story and the characters within it are never given any emotional depth to explore (despite there being some alluded to) and the visuals only offer a small amount of wonder to rise above cluttered, chaotic action, at least there should be some humor to liven this colorful adventure. A lot comes from Everest just being himself, as well as an occasional bit of charm from nameless supporting characters, as well as a “Whooping Snake” that pops up inexplicably in times of crisis. Sadly, much of the other jokes and gags are centered around the young Pang, who is as much fun to be around as it is the hyperactive kid at the pizza party constantly downing liters of orange soda.

Thank the stars for the voice work from Eddie Izzard, practically stealing the show as the villainous Burnish. A corporate honcho who wants to use the creature for his own financial gain, he’s deplorable but extremely odd and a bit charming in his deviousness. He comes off like a proper cartoon villain who is clearly not supposed to be liked but makes it hard to root against him. Sarah Paulson also tries to have some fun as Dr. Zara, but she never gets to make the most of her role by the end, despite a playful twist.

While the character work is put on the back burner in favor of big, unspectacular set pieces and humor that could easily make the young ones giggle as much as annoy anyone over 14, there are some genuinely beautiful scenes near the end, wherein Yi gets to play the violin atop at the foot of a statue in the scenic mountains. There is indeed a lot of magic to be had from a movie that features such wonderful music and a creature that can do amazing things, but until the final moments so much is wasted on trying to be a grand adventure that it never gets to make the best use of what can make it special.

That is the ultimate folly of ABOMINABLE. Director/writer Jill Culton and the team made a very cute, and sometimes very sweet little movie, but so much of what makes it special is bogged down by a one-dimensional script and features that have been seen in other, often better, animated movies. But, at the very least, kids will die for the cuddliness of the massive creature, which I’m sure will do wonders for the toy sales after the credits roll.