Here we got "Smallfoot" and these slightly over 1.5 hours are one of the most talked about animated films of 2018. I have seen people include this one on their predictions list for the 2018 Oscar nominations in the Animated Feature category, even if it is not considered one of the two front runners that deal with dogs and superheroes. But back to this one here. Director is Karey Kirkpatrick and while it is only his third directorial effort (and only second in animation), he has been prolific in other fields of filmmaking for a long time and is indeed very experienced. It fits that he is also listed as a producer here and one of the many writers. The latter list also includes Sergio Pablos, who wrote the book this film is based on. Well, what can I say. All in all, I was disappointed. It is a tolerable film at best. I don't know if the translation was the problem as I watched the German dub, but several other fields did very little for me too. First of all, for a film taking place in a world of snow for 99% of its time, I expect more breathtakingly beautiful shots to be honest. It comes very very short compared to Frozen for example in that department. As for the character animation, it was okay. I did like some of the supporting players, but the two protagonists, human and yeti, are very forgettable looks-wise. I guess that was the negative side from trying to keep them seem normal. But I did like many of the supporting yetis looks-wise if you want to call them that. But these looks could not make up for the weaknesses when it comes to elaborating on the characters. The best example there is the group of friends to our main character. Extremely forgettable to be honest and even his love interest feels really flat most of the time. Making her the main antagonist's daughter is not enough alone. Well, that's not true really. You keep wondering who the main antagonist is, the guy I just mentioned, the human, mankind as a whole or is there even a main antagonist at all? Actually, not really I would say.
Unfortunately the comedy comes short too. The jokes fall flat most of the time and the gimmicky characters cannot make up for it overall. And there is again these jokes with all kinds of stuff coming out of your butt that only work for so long and for very small audiences. The only thing I found pretty funny is when they show us how humans hear the way yetis are talking and the other way around. That was pretty funny indeed and reminded me by the way that it is not very different between humans and all kinds of animals, pets especially. This was a nice running gag I thought. But it was really the only aspect here that had me kinda laughing occasionally. And there were other components that made this film that were really bad to be fair. First of all, the size of the yetis compared to humans changed constantly throughout the movie. A crucial flaw that should not happen in a film of this caliber. By the way, I keep saying yetis as they are no bigfoots, so the title makes only partially sense. Admittedly, it is about the humans, so it kinda fits, but certainly they could have gone with a better title. Second problem is the film falls completely flat in terms of emotion. This is one of the most crucial areas in animation these days in my opinion and an absolute deal-breaker, here for the negative side unfortunately. In addition, the film's message and explanations on how it may be better to replace old knowledge with new knowledge and a better and more open approach to anything feels very forced and stereotypical almost looking at the challenges of our time. I also somehow felt the film constantly criticized the Bible and Christianity and Creationism, which was not to my liking at all and really should not be included in a film like this. Now about the ending. It is very typical for a film, not just an animated film, these days. There was this big "all is lost" moment before the daughter goes again to find the human, but we all know there will be a perfect turn for the happy side again. And that's how it came. Sadly it had virtually nothing to do with realism again. They hate the yetis, try to capture them and two minutes later, they get closer and become best friends with the unknown. Like seriously? I did not buy it at all and the scene when they were cautiously moving closer to each other did not make it work at all. Just too much of a plot twist and all for the sake of a happy ending. Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer realism instead, as much as realism is possible in a film about yetis. But hey if they can make speaking toys work, then they can do the same with yetis. Here they did not. I don't think this should be nominated for an Oscar and give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.
Unfortunately the comedy comes short too. The jokes fall flat most of the time and the gimmicky characters cannot make up for it overall. And there is again these jokes with all kinds of stuff coming out of your butt that only work for so long and for very small audiences. The only thing I found pretty funny is when they show us how humans hear the way yetis are talking and the other way around. That was pretty funny indeed and reminded me by the way that it is not very different between humans and all kinds of animals, pets especially. This was a nice running gag I thought. But it was really the only aspect here that had me kinda laughing occasionally. And there were other components that made this film that were really bad to be fair. First of all, the size of the yetis compared to humans changed constantly throughout the movie. A crucial flaw that should not happen in a film of this caliber. By the way, I keep saying yetis as they are no bigfoots, so the title makes only partially sense. Admittedly, it is about the humans, so it kinda fits, but certainly they could have gone with a better title. Second problem is the film falls completely flat in terms of emotion. This is one of the most crucial areas in animation these days in my opinion and an absolute deal-breaker, here for the negative side unfortunately. In addition, the film's message and explanations on how it may be better to replace old knowledge with new knowledge and a better and more open approach to anything feels very forced and stereotypical almost looking at the challenges of our time. I also somehow felt the film constantly criticized the Bible and Christianity and Creationism, which was not to my liking at all and really should not be included in a film like this. Now about the ending. It is very typical for a film, not just an animated film, these days. There was this big "all is lost" moment before the daughter goes again to find the human, but we all know there will be a perfect turn for the happy side again. And that's how it came. Sadly it had virtually nothing to do with realism again. They hate the yetis, try to capture them and two minutes later, they get closer and become best friends with the unknown. Like seriously? I did not buy it at all and the scene when they were cautiously moving closer to each other did not make it work at all. Just too much of a plot twist and all for the sake of a happy ending. Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer realism instead, as much as realism is possible in a film about yetis. But hey if they can make speaking toys work, then they can do the same with yetis. Here they did not. I don't think this should be nominated for an Oscar and give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.