Abominable Movie Review: Looks good but feels rather boring

This film is broadly designed to tap into the largely unexplored Chinese and Asian markets and win a few American friends along the way

Film: Abominable
Cast (Voices): Chloe Bennet, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Albert Tsai, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson, Tsai Chin, Michelle Wong
Director: Jill Culton
Rating: 

A DreamWorks Animation co-production with the Chinese company Pearl Studio, 'Abominable' fails to distinguish itself from the much more accomplished, technically finessed Disney and Dream Works counterparts. This film is broadly designed to tap into the largely unexplored Chinese and Asian markets and win a few American friends along the way.

Set in China, with a hint of the Himalayas, Jill Culton's film opens with a playful yeti breaking free to find his way to a rooftop where he encounters Yi (Chloe Bennet), a tough girl working odd jobs in order to save money to take a trip across the country. Yi heals the creature's wound and christens him Everest. Subsequently, Yi and her two neighbors, Peng (Albert Tsai) and Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor), travel across the country to get Everest back to Everest, and reunite him with his family. To add some drama into the adventure you see a doctor (Sarah Paulson) and a villainous rare animal collector (Eddie Izzard) trailing on their heels, with nefarious designs on their mind.

Watch the trailer of Abominable right here:

Abominable may have referenced the Abominable Snowman for its titling but rarely does it showcase energy, villainy, drama or comedy to make the ensuing experience thrilling. The visual imagery is fascinating - be it the wave of flowers, ride on a giant dandelion, other nature driven visuals like a set-piece at the Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan and another one set on the illuminated towers of Pudong is also rather memorable. The background score and choice of music works up some elevating moments too. The story and plotting though appears to be a rather predictable mash-up of several other animation successes and doesn't quite have the distinctiveness to merit as unique. The script lacks verve, the humor is missing and the magic is literally non-existent- even when the Yeti suddenly starts exhibiting magical powers that can change the world. One major good thing though is that the central character, the yeti is undoubtedly adorable. The same can't be said about the film. Even the stunning landscapes fail to energise the rather dull and boring characters on display here!

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