We live in a time when we should be reminded that every creature deserves to be protected, loved, and cherished. The planet we live in does not belong to us so-called human beings only. Flora and fauna both have equal rights to claim the same space we care so much about. Apart from many others, these would be the main thoughts which land in your mind after watching the Chinese-American production of the absolutely adorable “Abominable”.
Yi (Chloe Bennet) just lost her father. She is a self-proclaimed loner who prefers to remain in her own world – the world that existed before her father’s departure. Whenever her mother (Michelle Wong) asks Yi to resume her violin playing, the girl immediately refuses to do so. However, on the roof of her home, she has a little private space where she keeps all the things she holds dear to her heart, including the same violin. During one of her daily climbings up to the roof, she finds a magical yeti, scared to death from all the light coming from the helicopters that try to chase him down. When the girl realizes she must help to reunite him with his family, she embarks herself on a life-changing journey as she will never be the same once it’s concluded.
When we find Yi, she’s a hard-working teenage girl who manages to walk the dogs, to babysit, throws out people’s garbage; overall, earning every penny she can. When she is home, she never has enough time for her grandma, Nai Nai (Tsai Chin) nor for her mother. In the meantime, it’s with yeti that the film opens when Dr. Zaza (Sarah Paulson) is determined to accomplish her mission by fulfilling the demand of Mr. Burnish (Eddie Izzard), to present a magical creature to the science world. But when yeti escapes, he launches a yeti hunt to bring him back before a world famous conference starts.
In the meantime, Yi promises to herself that someday she will fulfill her dad’s wish and complete her trip across China. After meeting yeti, or, how she calls him, Everest, the young girl had no idea that the exact same trip she will make much sooner than she expected. She will be joined by Peng (Albert Tsai) and Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor), who will help her along the way while they discover all the powers Everest has, turning the world they know into nothing in comparison with what they experience with Everest. Written by Jill Culton and directed by Jill Culton and Todd Wilderman (co-director), “Abominable” is an excellent animated film for the entire family. Gorgeous shots of China, incredible journey, beautiful colors and richly written characters turn the entire view of “Abominable” into an absolute joy.
Having that said, there’s another takeaway from the film I must note here and you must realize that we don’t know what would’ve happened to Everest if he was found by someone else. But Yi, who already knows the pain of family separation through the death of her father, understands Everest’s struggle as well, which leads her to ease his pain while she can’t do anything about her own. But what she does not know is that she will be cured from being a self-proclaimed loner with Everest who will remind her that the unity of family is not in one person only. While it’s awful to lose one, we shall never forget about those who’re still around. And Yi will get that point from Everest, making an unbreakable connection with the creature while she was heartbroken to do the same with her Mom and Nai Nai who have been around all this time.