Review: A yeti prompts a China travelogue in ‘Abominable’

“Abominable” is just about most cuddly piece of East-West synergy a corporation could dream up. first co-production between DreamWorks Animation and Shanghai-based Pearl Studios (formerly kwn as Oriental DreamWorks), “Abominable” is a rare kind of creature but sort we’re likely to see more and more of in movie aters. Chinese box office will soon overtake rth America as globe’s top movie market, inevitably reorienting big-screen entertainment. re’s thing wrong with aiming for moviegoers on each side of globe. For Hollywood productions of a certain budget, it’s long been considered a necessity. And, of course, intermingling of cultures — like in Lulu Wang’s lovely and heartfelt “ Farewell,” released earlier this year — often fuels brilliant, border-straddling tales.

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But “Abominable,” about a girl who discovers a yeti on rooftop of her Shanghai apartment building, is so safe, so risk-free, so bland, that it's business imperatives are never just off-screen. Writer-director Jill Culton (a writer on “Monsters, Inc.” and director of “Open Season”), who co-directed “Abominable” with Todd Wilderman, opens her film, like Humphry Bogart thriller “Dark Pass,” with an escape shot from a first-person perspective. A young yeti — picture a giant, furry Maltese — gets loose from wealthy collector of rare animals (Eddie Izzard). Lured by a billboard for Mt. Everest, he hides on a nearby rooftop. He’s soon found by Yi (Chloe Bennet), a “self-proclaimed loner” teenr living below with her mor (Michelle Wong) and her diminutive but fiery grandmor (Tsai Chin).

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Since losing her far, Yi has thrown herself into an assortment of unpleasant jobs, trying to save money to make trip across China she and her dad talked about. familial scenes are warm but fleeting. Before long Yi, along with a couple of neighboring pals — Jin (Tenzing rgay Trair, whose grandfar Tenzing rgay summited Everest with Edmund Hillary) and Peng (Albert Tsai) — take off with yeti y nickname Everest, with pursuers close behind (including a red-haired zoologist voiced by Sarah Paulson), as y try to get ir furry friend back to his home in Himalayas. A travelogue of China follows, with gang briskly journeying between postcard inland destinations, from Gobi Desert to Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan. animation is bright and lively, with some enchanting set-pieces.

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Everest, y learn, is just a big puppy-like a cartoon cousin to DreamWorks’ dog-like dragon, Toothless. He also has powers. With a low hum, Everest can spur gargantuan growth around him: a dandelion turns into an ermous floating ride, blueberries grow bigger than watermelons. journey, too, takes on healing properties for Yi, whose beautiful violin playing — a hobby gleaned from her far — only adds to uplifting quest.

“Abominable” is sweet and simple eugh, but its emotionality always feels thin and, like much of film, paint by numbers. (Coldplay’s “Fix You” fits right in.) If I’m being hard on a mostly charming kids movie, it’s because it feels tantalizing close to being something special. Yi, as affectionately voiced by Bennet, is a fabulously plucky heroine. And (unfortunate) velty of a major animated release centered completely on Asian characters, in an Asian setting, is something to celebrate. Unfortunately, “Abominable” still ends up feeling too familiar.“Abominable,” a Universal Studios release, is rated PG by Motion Picture Association of America for some action and mild rude humor. Running time: 104 minutes. Two stars out of four.

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