Respond to these rapid questions in our Abominable quiz and we will tell you which Abominable character you are. Play it now.
Despite some beautiful images, such as a wave of flowers and a ride on a giant dandelion, “Abominable” lacks the distinctive personality that would set it apart from superior animated films that cover much of the same ground. A co-production with the Chinese company Pearl Studio, it is very clearly intended to appeal to the widest possible international audience, which means it has been overly rounded out and sanded down in order to achieve this. To come down on a sweet and simple film like this can feel a little Scrooge-like at times, but kids can get bored with these kinds of films as well. They will come here, too.
During the opening credits of Jill Culton’s film, a playful, endearing yeti manages to break free from his captivity in a Chinese metropolis and find his way to a nondescript rooftop. That’s where he meets Yi (Chloe Bennet), a tough girl who has been working odd jobs to save money for a trip across the country that she had planned with her recently deceased father. Yi is a tough girl who has been working odd jobs to save money for a trip across the country with her recently deceased father. She realizes that the creature is not only harmless, but also injured, and she heals its wound, giving it the name Everest in honor of the mountain that she has reached. In no time, Yi and two neighbors, the childish Peng (Albert Tsai) and the smooth-talking Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor), are traveling across the country to return Everest to his home on Mount Everest and reunite him with his family, a journey that takes them across the country. An evil rare animal collector voiced by Eddie Izzard and a doctor voiced by Sarah Paulson are trailing behind them in this animated film.
The music in a lot of animated films is well-known, but in “Abominable,” the beats are only half-heartedly played. It appears to have been created by a machine that was fed the scripts for the “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Kung Fu Panda” movies, as well as the script for “Smallfoot,” and instructed to create a hybrid that would be as inoffensive as possible to the target audience. Aside from that, the script is shockingly lacking in terms of entertaining value. While there is something to be said for going in the opposite direction of a genre that is typically overloaded with jokes, I was hoping for a single line of dialogue that would make me laugh or smile, and I never got one. Of course, there are wonderful animated films that aren’t intended to be comedies—and one can imagine a version of this that is more heavily inspired by Miyazaki, for example—but this script doesn’t do anything to compensate for the lack of comedic timing. The characters all speak of what they need to do or what is important to them, and then they move on to the next set piece to complete it or to express themselves. It’s a disappointment in terms of boredom.
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“Abominable” actually works best when the language is removed entirely and the emphasis is placed on nature-inspired visuals or music. In a few sequences, Everest demonstrates his magical abilities, which include scenes in which giant blueberries chase our heroes down a hill or a yellow wave of flowers propels them forward—and it is in these scenes that the “Abominable” character comes to life. In addition, there is a visually arresting sequence at the Leshan Giant Buddha statue in Sichuan (even if it was a mistake to go to something as obvious as Coldplay on the soundtrack in that scene). Abominable is really a road movie across a country that has not been adequately captured in animated films for American audiences, and that has intrinsic value. A large portion of the landscaping is completed. It is only when it returns to the drab narrative and characters that the magic of the journey is lost once more.
Abominable Quiz
“Abominable” aspires to be a cinematic representation of its central character, who is endearing, sweet, and at times magical—and it achieves this goal. However, it appears to be more like a mean corporate boss, more concerned with profits than with creativity, and attempting to gain control of a piece of the animated world that it does not fully comprehend..
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Abominable quiz.
This review was originally published on September 8th, 2019, following the conclusion of the Toronto International Film Festival.
For more personality quizzes check this: Abominable Quiz.
