Susan Granger’s review of “Smallfoot” (Sony/Warner Bros. Animation)
Beneath the colorful animation and catchy pop songs, Karey Kirkpatrick and Jason Reisig’s family-friendly adventure, based on Sergio Pablos’ book “Yeti Tracks,” is a contemporary allegory about a manipulative leader whose followers who are willing to accept any ‘truth’ as long as it validates their beliefs.
Migo (Channing Tatum) is a happy young Yeti – a.k.a. Abominable Snowman – living high in the Himalayas in an isolated village. His father Dorgle (Danny DeVito) is the Gong Ringer, responsible for signaling the Great Glowing Snail to light up the sky every morning.
Belief in the Snail and other traditions are etched into the stone plates of a vast robe worn by the Yeti tribal leader, the Stonekeeper (Common), who is determined to maintain order: “If there’s a question causing you to go astray/Just stuff it down inside of you until it goes away.”
The tranquility of Migo’s existence is shattered when he spies a Smallfoot (a human), who survived a plane crash. When he returns to his village and tells people about his discovery, no one will believe him because he doesn’t have proof. So the Stonekeeper banishes Migo as a heretic.
“If it goes against the stones, it can’t be true,” one Yeti says, realizing, “If one stone is wrong, the others could be as well.”
Exiled Migo then encounters a small group of outcasts known as the Smallfoot Expeditionary Society (SES). Led by The Stonekeeper’s daughter Meechee (Zendaya), they include Gwangi (NBA’s LeBron James), Kolka (Gina Rodriguez) and Fleen (Ely Henry).
Meanwhile, beneath the impenetrable cloud cover, an obnoxious TV host Percy Patterson (James Corden) is desperate to up his nature show ratings by dressing his producer like Bigfoot.
When Migo and Percy’s paths cross, Migo brings Percy back to the village, which throws Yeti society into turmoil. Is Migo part of a conspiracy to threaten all of Yeti-dom?
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Smallfoot” is a slyly subversive 6, encouraging children to question authority and learn to think for themselves.
