Readers of my print version of Filmbobbery may recall that I really enjoy Abominable Snowman / Yeti movies; I wrote an article about them in the Winter, 2001 issue (Volume 2; Issue 3).  (By the way, that issue, along with most of the others, is available for sale for just $10 each on this website!).  Smallfoot is a delightful inversion of the premise, wherein we see the mountaintop culture of the Yetis, and it is the human “small foot” which is legendary.

The film, co-directed by Karey Kirkpatrick and Jason Reisig, is an enjoyable romp, and a mini-musical to boot.  It is very clever and full of fascinating detail (some of which make no logical sense, which is kind of fun).  The Yeti culture is more utopian than the human village below; the Yetis risk despoiling their civilization if they mix with us (and our barbarian ways).  The songs are cute and bright, but they also illustrate and advance the story very ably, especially “Let it Lie,” performed by Common (voice of the Stonekeeper).  And the film’s moral, that everybody should be able, and willing, to get along, is one worth endlessly repeating.

The animation is terrific, as is the character design and the mountaintop setting of the Snowpeople.  The only quibble I have with the Yetis is that the film doesn’t establish and cement their names enough.  Afterward neither my wife nor I could remember the names of the Snowpeople with any accuracy.  The humans, on the other hand, are generally irritating, self-centered characters who mirror us all too well and are easily recognized.  For all the inventiveness and freshness of the Yeti culture, it seemed that the human culture was typically cynical and overtly capitalistic.

So the movie seems bright and bouncy enough for kids, with six songs to keep things humming, yet clever and astute to keep adult viewers interested as well.  It certainly captured my attention, especially the mythology involving the humans and the massive effort needed to keep the two cultures separate.  It’s great that the film has something to say, and says it so uniquely.  I hope other snowbound adventures follow; the adventures of Migo (Channing Tatum), Meechee (Zendaya) and their exceedingly hairy friends are certainly worth following.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  19 December 2018.