A young girl, Yi (voice of Chloe Bennet) playing violin on her Shanghai roof apartment finds a Yeti (voice of Joseph Izzo) hiding from his captors whom he escaped from. They soon form a bond through gestures and it is her mission to return him to Everest. This results in her and her two friends, (voices of Tenzing Norgay Trainor as her cousin Jin and Albert Tsai as Peng) helping the white abominable creature Yi named Everest reunite with his family. Yi is working odd jobs for a vacation her dad had promised her and ironicly her goal is Mt. Everest.
Off to Mount Everest all four go but with a group of bad zoologists hot on their trail with other plans for the beast. Yeti sees a billboard with Everest and that is his destination but a rich scientist (voiced by Eddie Izzard) keeps providing a stumbling block in their journeys. They stow away on a ship bound for the big mountain with the henchmen in hot pursuit still. Yeti uses his magicial powers, as he turns blue, to fulfill his goal with all the kids in tow and with the animators impressive Chinese landscapes and snow covered hills it looked real. I did wonder how the kids, with only a journey of a few days, survived with no warmer clothes but it’s just a cartoon, right? I enjoyed how their trip included a stop at the Leshan Giant Buddha statue that her father took an interest in. See the film everywhere September 27. 2 1/2 stars
In the past year there have been other similar Yeti movies like “Smallfoot” to just name one. Dreamworks and Pearl entertainment have a cute little story line with Abominable and writer-director Jill Culton did a great job with the animation shots even spending a few minutes showing off Yi’s violin playing for Everest. The film seemed fun for kids but fails to gather enough momentum for the adults even when Everest is rejoined with his parents. I will say, this film has enough magic for all but will it have enough for the box-office weekend? 2 1/2 stars
