Orbi-Wan Techno

From my review page ORBI-WAN GOES TO THE MOVIES

ABOMINABLE (PG) - Gorgeously animated, some fully realized characters, and culturally interesting settings boost this very familiar story

By my count, this makes the third movie about Yetis in a couple years (if you don’t count the live-action weird historical fiction piece with Sam Elliott earlier this year). Smallfoot, which came out about this time last year, dealt with a Yeti culture attempting to deal with the encroachment of human civilization. The Missing Link followed a 1900s expedition to unite an American Sasquatch with his Yeti kin. And now we have Abominable, a Chinese/American co-production from Dreamworks, about three friends who make it their mission to return a young Yeti to its home in the Himalayas.

There are a number of things that set this animated adventure apart from the rest. The most prominent is that the story takes place in China, and many of the primary and secondary characters are Chinese. What this means is that, while everyone speaks English, nearly everything written on signs, crates, soda cans, posters, etc., is in Chinese, Also, the story features culturally significant localities, all beautifully rendered by the films designers.

The familiar story itself is a variation of what we’ve seen before. A focused, hard-working teenaged girl, Yi (voiced by Chloe Bennet of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, herself the daughter of a Chinese father), who is still grieving the loss of her beloved father, a violinist who passed his talent on to his child. She lives with her mother and grandmother, who are concerned that Yi is losing touch with her family and friends. One night, Yi befriends an injured Yeti who recently escaped from an international corporation facility and is hiding on the roof of her building. Despite the fact that search parties are combing the city on the ground and in the air, led by a determined scientist and tracker (Sarah Paulsen), Yi sets her mind to help Everest, the Yeti, return to his home in the Himalayas.

They are joined by Peng (Albert Tsai), an energetic 11-year-old basketball enthusiast, and his cousin, pre-med student Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor), a self-absorbed materialistic pretty boy who comes to realize there are more important things in life than social media likes and trendy clothes. The group of four travel through a very picturesque China, mostly one step ahead of the Burnish Corporation, owned by the elderly Burnish (Eddie Izzard), whom we learn is not as bad as he first seems.

Just be prepared, music and magic play a huge role in aiding our primary four courageous characters on their journey. Everest has the ability to manipulate nature with his humming, and Yi is a musical prodigy who eventually acquires a bit of that magic herself.

Abominable is, in a word, adorable. Appropriate for all ages, safe for younger kids, enough action and unusual sights to keep older viewers interested, and some good lessons about courage and perseverance. Oh, and adults might be dabbing at a few tears, as well. I am giving Abominable 3.5 out of 5 stars, and I am sure I will be sharing this very nice film with my grandsons at some point.

NOTES TO PARENTS (Mild Spoilers): Abominable is rated PG for mild peril and very mild rude humor. There is no cursing, although “Oh my God” and “Gosh” are said a couple of times. The yeti, later called Everest, injures his arm while escaping captivity. The corporation trying to recapture Everest has black helicopters and ground transport, and shoot at Everest and his new friends with tranquilizer guns.The female scientist leading the hunt says something about Everest being “chopped into little pieces” for research. After a LOT of soda and burping, Peng and Everest run into the woods to pee. Jin is shown with two giant blueberries sticking out of the back of his pants. Peng is briefly knocked senseless during an avalanche. Yi is thrown off a bridge by the female scientist, but is shown safely clinging to a rope soon after.

MID- and AFTER-CREDIT SCENES: During the credits, there are various shots of the primary characters enjoying life after their adventure. Some of the pictures are amusing. At the end of the credits, a recurring character makes a VERY brief appearance.

ADULT ENJOYMENT-O-METER: 7.5 out of 10.

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