Story by Grant Dillard, Staff writer
At first glance, “Smallfoot” seems like a typical generic animated kids movie musical, with nothing special seeming to stand out. But in a classic case of “don’t judge a book by its cover,” this film may be one of the most surprisingly good movies of the year.
The Yetis of “Smallfoot” live atop a mountain in the Himalayas. Everyone has their own job to do to ensure the environment runs smoothly. One day, a young Yeti named Migo (Channing Tatum) witnesses a plane crash and discovers a human, or “Smallfoot” as the Yetis prefer to call them. Migo tries to tell the news to the villagers but is banished because he has no proof. Wanting to prove the existence of man, he works with his crush, Meechee (Zendaya) and her friends to descend from the mountain. There, he comes across a wildlife documentary filmmaker named Percy (James Corden). Migo brings Percy to the village which leads to new discoveries being made and the inner workings of the Yeti culture being revealed.
The film’s biggest strength is with its story. Early on, it establishes the way that the Yeti world works and the responsibilities everyone has to keep everything flowing. That alone makes the world quite fascinating to get invested in. Things only start to get interesting towards the halfway point once Migo brings Percy to the Yeti homeland; the creatures start to grow to like mankind even more, therefore, conflicting with the written laws and rules that have stayed with the society for many years. Overall, it’s a smart and clever story about how appearances can be deceiving, the norms and rules established back in the day can’t predict how things will change in the future and how questioning authority isn’t always a bad thing.
The characters, while not exactly groundbreaking or 100 percent memorable, are likable enough to leave some sort of impression. Migo makes for a decent lead character by having a good heart and simply wanting to do what’s right, but also is not afraid to prove something new to the higher-ups in his life. Meechee acts like the typical love interest for the main lead, but she’s got enough personality and charm to make her an interesting character. Percy goes through a decent story arc, wanting to simply cash in on the discovery of Yetis at first but eventually starts to befriend and respect them more. Gwangi (LeBron James), Kolka (Gina Rodriguez) and Fleem (Ely Henry), friends of Meechee who accompany Migo on his quest to prove the existence of man, make for simple yet effective comic relief.
The only character who seems out of place is the Yeti chief known as the Stonekeeper (Common). The character is supposed to be a powerful authoritarian being to the Yeti people and the writing certainly reflects that. But what really lets it down is Common’s performance; he speaks his dialogue in the same tone he would use when ordering a latte from Starbucks, rather than as a leader to his people. It isn’t until the Stonekeeper is given a rap song later in the film that it starts to make sense as to why Common was cast in the role.
Despite the film having a lot of good things going for it, it’s by no means a perfect film; it has its fair share of shortcomings and idiotic moments. To the film’s credit though, some of the mentioned clichés don’t last too long but the ones that do can be a bit tedious to sit through.
“Smallfoot” turned out to be one of the biggest surprise-hit films of the year, thanks to its clever storytelling and likable characters. The first half may be a bit slow and generic for older viewers; but by the halfway point, audiences should be hooked. Those looking for a more intelligent animated family picture should definitely give “Smallfoot” a watch.