Smallfoot Movie Review

Smallfoot (2018)

Rent Smallfoot on Amazon Video
Written by: Karey Kirkpatrick and Clare Sera (screenplay by), John Requa & Glenn Ficarra and Karey Kirkpatrick (screen story by), Sergio Pablos (based on the book "Yeti Tracks" by), Sergio Pablos, Eyal Podell, Jonathon E. Stewart     (uncredited)
Directed by: Karey Kirkpatrick, Jason Reisig (co-director)
Starring: Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common, Lebron James, Danney DeVito, Gina Rodriguez, Patricia Heaton, Justin Roiland, Jack Quaid
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer

Plot
A Yeti is convinced that the elusive creatures known as "humans" really do exist.

Verdict
It's a fun concept with Yetis actually existing and afraid of humans. That's mined for plenty of humor, but what could be just a simple kids' movie has some nice narrative turns while exploring tough decisions about tolerance, safety, and protection. The main characters have room to make decisions with consequences.
It depends.

Review
It's cute as animated movies usually are. The animation is solid, most impressive when it recreates powdery snow as Migo walks through it leaving tracks.

Yetis exist in a remote village governed by antiquated world views of how the universe works. That's cute for a kid's movie and it makes the Yetis seem simple, but the reason for that is integral to the story.

Migo stumbles across a human, despite being told a "Smallfoot" doesn't exist. That description is a fun play on the "Bigfoot" term. No one believes Migo, and I wondered to what degree this would develop the keeping an open mind narrative. It's more than a relevant idea and this movie manages to work for both kids and adults. The reason Yetis don't believe humans exist is revealed to be a means of protection. If the Yetis can erase the concept of humans and live in a remote part of the world humans won't visit and can't attack.

There are more than a few clever moments. Humans and Yetis can't understand each other. A Yeti speaking sounds like a horrifying growl to a human. A human screaming in terror sounds like a mouse squeaking to a Yeti. Despite the lack of communication, Migo befriends a human. The human is a television host for a nature show and the immediate concern is that he will use his discovery of Yetis to capitalize his own fame.

Migo learns why Yetis live as they do and he's faced with hard decisions to maintain the peace of his village. The television host also gets a moment where he must choose to be selfish or selfless.
The movie manages to end twice. It feels a bit cheap, but I get that this is a kids' movie and a happy ending is more desirable, though I prefer the more skeptical conclusion.