Abominable is a gentle, sincere animated adventure about a young Yeti named Everest who escapes captivity and finds a family in three unlikely Shanghai teenagers. Directed by Jill Culton, who also wrote the screenplay with William Davies, the film leans on its cast to carry its quiet emotional core. It is a movie about finding home, both literally and within oneself, and it mostly succeeds.
Trailer, via Universal Kids.
Everest Escapes the Compound
The story opens with a young Yeti named Everest escaping from a compound owned by wealthy businessman Mr. Burnish, who wants to prove the existence of yetis to the world. He lands on the roof of an apartment building in Shanghai, where he is discovered by Yi, a teenage violinist played by Chloe Bennet. Yi names him Everest, feeds him baozi, and treats his wounds as Burnish Industries’ security forces close in on his hiding place.
Yi’s own life is fractured. She lives with her mother and Nai Nai (grandmother) in a busy apartment building, and she has withdrawn from her friends and her violin playing since her father died. Her father was a violinist, and his absence is the primary reason for her self-isolation. Each night, she climbs to the rooftop and plays a song her father taught her, a small ritual that keeps him close.
When Everest reveals he wants to reunite with his family on Mount Everest, Yi decides to help him. The film becomes a road trip across southern China, with Everest, Yi, and her friends Peng and Jin traveling on trucks, ships, and through forests as Burnish and zoologist Dr. Zara chase them.
Peng and Jin Join the Journey
Peng is a basketball fan, and his tech-savvy older cousin Jin is on bad terms with Yi. The trio forms an uneasy alliance as they flee helicopters, dodge security forces, and navigate the chaos of Chinese ports. Their bond grows through shared danger, and the film uses their banter to keep the tone light even when the stakes feel large.
The animation is the film’s strongest asset. DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio co-produced the film, and the painterly computer animation gives Shanghai and the Chinese countryside a dreamlike quality. The Yeti itself is rendered with expressive eyes and a soft, woolly texture that makes Everest feel less like a monster and more like a lost child.
A Quiet Core Under Pressure
Where Abominable stumbles is in its pacing. The middle stretch drags as Everest, Yi, and the boys hide in forests and dodge helicopters, and the action sequences rely on spectacle rather than tension. The film is at its best when it slows down and lets Yi process her grief alongside Everest’s journey to find his family.
The relationship between the two is the heart of the picture. Everest teaches Yi about growth and connection, while Yi teaches Everest about human bonds. Their scenes together are the film’s most affecting, and they carry the message of the tagline, “Find your way home,” far better than the chase scenes do.
The Chase That Never Fully Grips
Burnish Industries’ pursuit is meant to raise the stakes, but the film never commits to making the antagonist truly threatening. Mr. Burnish and Dr. Zara are competent but dull, and their chases feel more like obstacles than genuine threats. The source text cuts off mid-sentence describing a forest scene where Everest’s powers over blueberry plants are described as stimulating growth.
The film also struggles with its secondary characters. Peng and Jin are fun in small doses, but their antagonism with Yi feels thin and underdeveloped.
The Numbers Behind the Story
- Director: Jill Culton
- Writers: Jill Culton, William Davies
- Voice cast: Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson, Tsai Chin
- Runtime: 97 minutes
- Release date: September 27, 2019 (US)
- Budget: $75 million
- Worldwide gross: Over $190 million
The film’s strengths are its emotional honesty and its animation. Its weaknesses are a middling chase and a protagonist who spends too much time reacting to danger rather than driving the story forward. Abominable is a pleasant watch that occasionally rises to greatness but never quite holds that height for long enough.
It is a film about finding home, and it finds its own version of that home in the bond between a girl and a Yeti. That bond is worth seeing, even if the rest of the trip is a bit bumpy.
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