Abominable
Adventure
Big Feet and Bigger Hearts: A TIFF Review of ‘Abominable’
September 14, 2019Ben MK
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Though they're all great films in their own right, Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell and Bao are perhaps more important for allowing Asian moviegoers to be able to see themselves on-screen. Now, with Abominable, Asian representation takes another step forward, in this delightfully animated tale about friendship, family, and finding one's way home. Yi (Chloe Bennet) lives with her mom and Nai Nai in Shanghai, working all manner of odd jobs in order to save up enough money to pay for a trip across China. However, all her plans go out the window when she encounters a Yeti on the rooftop of her apartment building. Having escaped from captivity at a research facility owned by Burnish Industries and run by the misguided Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson), all this creature — which Yi nicknames Everest — wants to do is go home to the Himalayas. And so Yi and her friends Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai) set out to do just that, evading and trying to outsmart Burnish's thugs every step of the way. Not unlike Laika Studios' Missing Link, which told a somewhat similar story about a homeward-bound Bigfoot, the result proves enjoyable for kids of all ages. What makes Abominable that much more special, however, is how it helps to move the needle forward for Asian cultural representation on the big screen. |
Abominable makes its world premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Its runtime is 1 hr. 37 min.
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