[usr 3]
A Yeti is convinced that the elusive creatures known as “humans” really do exist.
As with all children’s cartoon movies, “Smallfoot” gives human attributes and consciousness to animals. In this case, we are talking about Yetis; you know, the formidable snow monster who lives on mountains and is the nightmares of children in Alaska and possibly Colorado. Except, also like all kids’ movies, the normal bad guy is just a misunderstood animal in need of a little understanding and empathy. While cute and an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half, “Smallfoot” is barely unique and follows the same basic plot most kids’ films follow. I would like to see a show actually present animals as animals and make the show interesting without resorting to the standard format.
Channing Tatum is the voice of Migo, a Yeti living in a lively community of Yetis but not the fearsome creatures humans imagine. Instead, the yetis are giant cuddly furry animals with strange hairstyles. Migo and his friends (also with famous voices such as Zendaya, Common, LeBron James, Danny DeVito, Gina Rodriguez, and more) live by a set of strict rules carved out on stones at the top of their mountain. They must stay above the clouds, they must wake up the sun with a gong, they must follow the rules without questions. Finally, they must accept that humans or “small feet,” are not real. Which is all fine and dandy until Migo sees one crash a plane and parachute off a cliff.
Migo confronts the elders about what he saw and they banish him for his crazy notion. A small band of misfits believe the small feet exist and set out with Migo to prove their theory, including the stonekeeper’s daughter. The fearless Yeti falls through the clouds and stumbles upon a human searching for a Bigfoot to spur on his internet fandom and take him away from videos about small animals or spiders. Migo and his new small foot Percy (James Corden), try to communicate and in a series of misunderstandings, the Bigfoot kidnaps the Small foot and carries him up the mountain as his trophy of truth.
The other Yetis are thrilled at the sight of the human and attempt to learn everything they can from the little creature. Meanwhile, the stonekeeper explains how the mountain actually works and why their world cannot handle both the Yetis and the humans. With little air to breathe high above the clouds, Percy becomes ill and the stonekeeper’s daughter returns him back down the mountain to the human world where she discovers why her father wants to keep his tribe in the dark about humans. Both Percy and Migo now know the other exists and hopes to bring the two sets of creatures together.
One of the Yetis was hilarious but keeping track of the names was impossible. Beyond the one hilarious Bigfoot, none of the creatures had much personality. Even Migo only had enough personality to be curious beyond his teaching. Percy, the human, was the only character given a full set of traits and a few of them were more than annoying. He did, however, grow from his experiences with the creatures and gave them a fair chance while any other human would have run screaming.
The movie was enjoyable and the premise of the Yetis searching for us and fearing us was a clever twist, but the rest of the movie came from a basic plot and offers nothing new to our lives. Children will enjoy the movie without much disappointment. They may even like the music which I fast-forwarded through because it was so painful to listen to. The Blu-ray comes with a sing-along version as well for those who want to sing these rather torturous songs. The movie will make a nice gift to put your kids stocking but do not expect the film to be their favorite as it’s far too predictable.
Now available on Digital HD and on Blu-ray Combo Pack & DVD December 11th
