Abominable (2019) - Summary, Review (with Spoilers)

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Abominable may appeal to kids more than adults, but there will be a handful of moments keeping you from using the movie to take a nap.

Director(s)		Jill Culton, Todd Wilderman
Screenplay By		Jill Culton
Date Released		9/26/2019
Genre(s)		Animation, Comedy, Adventure
Who Is This For?		Kids Those Who Would Like Their Children To Be Exposed To Other Cultures, Or See Their Own, In A English Language Animated Film
Where To Buy, Rent, or Stream?		Amazon \| Fandango
Noted Cast
Yi	Chloe Bennet
Yi’s Mom	Michelle Wong
Nai Nai	Tsai Chin
Jin	Tenzing Norgay Trainor
Peng	Albert Tsai
Dr. Zara	Sara Paulson
Mr. Burnish	Eddie Izzard

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Plot Summary/ Review (with Spoilers)

After the death of Yi’s father, she has become relatively distant. For in the pursuit of money to live out her father’s dream of taking her, and the rest of the family, to different sites in China, be it her mother Nai Nai, her friend Jin, or his little cousin Peng, she no longer makes time for them. Yet, when a young Yeti is captured by Dr. Zara for Mr. Burnish, and he escapes to Yi’s roof, her plans shift from this grand journey, she was going to take solo, to joining Jin and Peng to find a way to get the yeti they name Everest home.

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Highlights

Kid Appropriate Comedy

Will you as an adult laugh? Maybe. However, most of the comedy is composed of silly, slapstick moments, Everest being cute, or this snake which goes “Whoop,” and moments geared towards kids and those who enjoy a simple comedic moment. Mind you, the kind which are playfully violent, like Peng and Everest play fighting, and then Everest showing he doesn’t know his own strength.

Chinese Representation

With the film taking place in Asia, we are treated to hearing and seeing Asian, specifically Chinese, culture. Be it in the form of national landmarks, like the Leshan Giant Buddha, possible Chinese sayings, and with an Asian majority cast who are allowed to be the good characters, bad, and those in a morally gray area. Making it so things feel well rounded and not damming in one way or another. Though the villains aren’t Chinese or from other Asian countries.

Yi

Yi is the driving force behind this movie and the emotion she will bring out of you, like her violin performances, noted below, might be unexpected. For while there has been tremendous growth in the writing of animated young women, Yi is made to neither be a role model or a badass. She is just a girl, unable to deal with the trauma of her dad passing, and so she seeks an escape from it. Hence her working so much, unable to be with her mother or grandmother, since it likely reminds her someone is missing, and maybe not connecting with Jin, who is portrayed as an older brother kind of friend, for he is growing distant.

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Making it so, rather than create this ideal person for girls to look up to, Yi is made into someone girls can relate to. Which, to me, isn’t done much in animation. Especially considering the journeys characters go on usually push them to be untouchable and put on a pedestal due to their intellect, bravery, or the praise they receive at the end of the journey.

On The Fence

Yi’s Violin

The wonderful score which is Yi playing her violin does slow down an already tiresome movie, but it is also one of the top highlights for the music is unexpected. It’s at a level you’d expect of a musical film, a period drama, or something far more serious than this. Making it out of place, to a certain degree, yet each time Yi picks up her violin and plays, it is the kind of treat that temps you to seek out a soundtrack.

After An Hour, You’ll Want This To Wrap It Up

One issue you may have with the film is the journey to Everest is noted as long by Peng, at the beginning of the movie, and you are given a sense of how arduous of a trip that would be for a bunch of kids. Be it walking most places, with Everest occasionally speeding things up, or how tiresome it would be considering all they have are each other to liven up the journey.

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Which will drive you to definitely start checking your watch, and being tempted to, as they mention where they are, wanting to Google how far that is from Mount Everest to see if this will be wrapping up anytime soon.

Overall: Positive (Worth Seeing)

While Abominable does grow tiresome after a while, it may solely feel that way for an adult. As for kids? There are more than enough silly moments to keep them engaged, and a heartfelt ending that bring both them, and their adult chaperone, to tears. Hence the positive label.

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Abominable Ending Explained

Throughout the movie, Mr. Burnish, someone who, in their youth, would scale mountains and collects rare items and animals, is seen as the bad guy. Someone who is trying to redeem his name after seeing a yeti before but having no proof. So, he hires Dr. Zara to capture one and unbeknownst to him, and the audience originally, she is his persona in a young, female, fake British, form.

Making it so when Mr. Burnish decides to back off from capturing Everest, Dr. Zara betrays him and has him hit with a tranquilizer. But with Everest having magic powers, and even his hair, which he uses to fix Yi’s violin that breaks, being able to create magic, they all fight back, and Dr. Zara ends up having a violent death – for what kids movie doesn’t make it clear bad people suffer horribly?

*The death is only her flying down the area around Mount Everest in a armored vehicle, but considering how far down they will go, it seems like a violent death.

Is A Sequel Possible?

Considering we only see Everest with his parents for a little bit then they leave, we could. However, outside of making it a global warming storyline, I’m unsure what they could really do here? For, so we’re told, the snow from the mountain is what shields and hides the yetis so without that, what is stopping them from being discovered again? After all, Mr. Burnish did make multiple claims of finding them so who is to say someone didn’t believe him and was disappointed when he cancelled his exhibition of a captured yeti?