Smallfoot (B or 3/4 stars)
'Smallfoot' (directed by Kasey Kirkpatrick & Jason Reisig) is an animated musical adventure that takes place high in the snowy Himalayan mountains, where a community of enormous Yetis {or Abominable Snowpeople} live according to rules set into ancient stones. Migo (voiced by Channing Tatum) is prepared to follow in his father Dorgle's (Danny DeVito) footsteps as the Yeti who hurls himself across a chasm every morning to ring a gong so that the "glowing snail in the sky" {aka, the Sun} can 'wake up'. But then he sees an airplane crash & comes face to face with a creature he previously thought was mythical ... a "smallfoot" (human). When Migo runs & tells his village about his discovery, the sage, maintain-order-at-all-costs Stonekeeper (rapper, Common) insists Migo is lying & exiles him as a heretic.
Later, Migo teams up with Meechee (Zendaya), the Stonekeeper's skeptical daughter + a trio of smallfoot believers who also question the "truth-telling" stones. Migo leaps beneath the clouds that surround the Yetis' mountaintop home & finally sees the human village in the valley below. There, he crosses paths with Percy (James Corden), a wildlife reality show host so desperate for ratings that he'd ask his producer to dress up as a Yeti for an episode. As Percy & Migo get to know each other - though not verbally, because humans hear yeti speech as growling, & Yetis hear human speech as high-pitched gibberish, haha - they realize they have much more to fear from ignorance than from each other. But Percy's presence throws Yeti society into turmoil as a conspiracy to threaten them is uncovered.
I enjoyed this film way more than I thought I would. This animated adventure is an utterly charming mix of positive messages, light comedy, colorful animation & a few catchy songs along the way. I loved switching-up the legend of Bigfoot: the focus is on the Yetis who are skeptical about humans. Channing Tatum's voice is upbeat & charismatic, & Migo's earnest personality is appealing. The father-son dynamic btwn. Migo & Danny Devito's Dorgle is both tender & sweet. Zendaya lends her beautiful voice to a couple of songs {that you'll at least enjoy in the moment}. And although the back story to the Yetis' stone-based laws & the history of their community is fairly complex ... most of the story is straightforward enough for kids of all ages to follow.
Now, the film's most entertaining sequences DO rely on old-school sight gags & silly jokes. Normally, that would bug me. But the film is so cheery & un-annoying {this hampers so many animated films, for me} that the gags & jokes just washed over me in a genial way. Migo & Percy can't communicate with words, but they grow to see each other not as harmful predators but as protective friends -- love that. And Migo & Meechee's little romance is sweet without being a central aspect of the film. While this isn't the kind of adult-skewing animated epic that's going to move mountains {no pun intended} or reap awards (like a Wall-E, Up or Inside Out), its messages ring true {I needed tissues in a few spots} & it's just a loveable movie.
Later, Migo teams up with Meechee (Zendaya), the Stonekeeper's skeptical daughter + a trio of smallfoot believers who also question the "truth-telling" stones. Migo leaps beneath the clouds that surround the Yetis' mountaintop home & finally sees the human village in the valley below. There, he crosses paths with Percy (James Corden), a wildlife reality show host so desperate for ratings that he'd ask his producer to dress up as a Yeti for an episode. As Percy & Migo get to know each other - though not verbally, because humans hear yeti speech as growling, & Yetis hear human speech as high-pitched gibberish, haha - they realize they have much more to fear from ignorance than from each other. But Percy's presence throws Yeti society into turmoil as a conspiracy to threaten them is uncovered.
I enjoyed this film way more than I thought I would. This animated adventure is an utterly charming mix of positive messages, light comedy, colorful animation & a few catchy songs along the way. I loved switching-up the legend of Bigfoot: the focus is on the Yetis who are skeptical about humans. Channing Tatum's voice is upbeat & charismatic, & Migo's earnest personality is appealing. The father-son dynamic btwn. Migo & Danny Devito's Dorgle is both tender & sweet. Zendaya lends her beautiful voice to a couple of songs {that you'll at least enjoy in the moment}. And although the back story to the Yetis' stone-based laws & the history of their community is fairly complex ... most of the story is straightforward enough for kids of all ages to follow.
Now, the film's most entertaining sequences DO rely on old-school sight gags & silly jokes. Normally, that would bug me. But the film is so cheery & un-annoying {this hampers so many animated films, for me} that the gags & jokes just washed over me in a genial way. Migo & Percy can't communicate with words, but they grow to see each other not as harmful predators but as protective friends -- love that. And Migo & Meechee's little romance is sweet without being a central aspect of the film. While this isn't the kind of adult-skewing animated epic that's going to move mountains {no pun intended} or reap awards (like a Wall-E, Up or Inside Out), its messages ring true {I needed tissues in a few spots} & it's just a loveable movie.