Abominable Transports Audiences to Magical Adventure

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Abominable from DreamWorks Animation

Take the family on an exquisite, imaginative tour of Asia courtesy of Dreamworks' newest animated feature, ABOMINABLE.

Yi (CHLOE BENNET, AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.) is a young girl with a driving ambition. Her day is spent sprinting from job to job, scrounging up cash and grunging up her appearance. Her mother (MICHELLE WONG) and grandmother (TSAI CHIN) are unaware of how she spends her time, or why she's gone all day long. We quickly learn that Yi is saving up to travel the world, so see all the places her recently departed father wanted to take her. 

While spending some quiet time in the hideout she has built on her rooftop, Yi has an unexpected encounter -- with a Yeti! She names the big fuzzy creature Everest, after the mountain she believes to be his home. But Everest didn't just wander onto Yi's roof by accident. He's an escapee from what was to be a major zoological exhibit, and the man behind his capture, Mr. Burnish (EDDIE IZZARD), wants him back at all costs.

When the hunters locate, Everest flees, accidentally taking Yi with him. Pursuing her are her two friends, Peng (ALBERT TSAI) and Jin (TENZING NORGAY TRAINOR). Ultimately, all four end up on a barge out of the city, beginning the first step of a trek that will take them across the continent to Mount Everest itself, with Burnish and his chief zoologist, Dr. Zara (SARAH PAULSON) hot on their trail. But Everest has a secret advantage he soon reveals to the kids: he can perform magic, and the closer he gets to home the more powerful his magic becomes.

ABOMINABLE is more than just a masterpiece of lush imagery, from city to country, from desert to mountains. It's a story of character development, as Yi comes to terms with her father's passing, and Jin discovers he is far from being the center of the universe. The script also has a lot of humor in it, which successfully hits the mark if the laughter of the children in our screening is any indication. What's more, the tale has unanticipated twists in it, where even the so-called bad guys have epiphanies, and the so-called good guys reveal their darker selves.

Visually stunning, with a soul-rousing musical score, ABOMINABLE is another hit for the DreamWorks team.

Grade: 
4.5 / 5.0