*What do you get when you bring together megastars Lebron James, Zendaya Coleman, Common, Danny DeVito and Channing Tatum? You get, “Smallfoot,” an animated film about bigfoot (Yeti) meets human.
“Smallfoot,” which was directed by Karey Kirkpatrick, tells the story of the relationship between two members of a tribe of Yeti’s (bigfeet) and Percy, a young man who lands in the Yeti’s world, a land above the clouds in the Himalayans. The film speaks to the struggle between myth and reality.
Channing Tatum voices Migo, a young Yeti who is getting ready to take over for his father Dorgle (voiced by Danny DeVito), who is the village gonger and responsible for waking up the sun each day. One day Migo misses his mark and encounters Percy (voiced by James Corden), a pilot and the host of a nature show. Meeting Percy goes against what Migo was taught, which makes his life a tad uncomfortable; as the two become friends, although they speak two different languages. (You literally hear gibberish when they are speaking with each other.)
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Common voices the Stonekeeper, the most powerful Yeti and the one who keeps track of the tribes beliefs, which are literally etched in stone. Zendaya Coleman voices Meechee, the daughter of the Stonekeeper. She is inquisitive and can’t help but wonder if there is more in the world than what she knows. I liked Meechee because she was her own person, stood up for what was right and went against the grain as did Gwangi, an oversized conspiracy theorist purple Yeti who was voiced by Lebron James.
On Saturday, September 22, I went to a screening of Smallfoot at the AMC 16 in Burbank, California and the lobby was what I would call totally Smallfoot friendly. There was a photographer on hand to take pictures of the moviegoers, s spin-the-wheel as well as a Smallfoot cake and cupcakes.
At the beginning of the screening, they played music from the soundtrack, one song by Zendaya and another by Cyn. When they started playing them a second time, I had a “What the heck – start the film already!” moment. By the time the songs finished multiple rotations, those catchy little tunes were totally in my head and I found myself singing “Yeti up, Yeti Up, Yeti Up, Up, Up” (from Cyn’s song), long after I left the theater.
There were just as many adults in the audience enjoying the film as there were children and the laughs were equal from both.
If the message to take away from the film was different is not bad and people who are different can peacefully co-exist and live in harmony, the message may or may not have been received by the younger audience. Whether they received the correct message or not, what they did receive was a good time eating cupcakes, taking pictures and spinning the wheel to win prizes; all courtesy of Smallfoot.
You may not be provided with cupcakes and the chance to spin the wheel for prizes and maybe there will not be a photo op, but this Friday, September 28 you will be able to go to the movies and see a cute feel good kind of film with a star-studded cast and catchy music. Do not overthink it, just go and have fun.
Marilyn Smith is a Los Angeles based writer/reviewer. Contact her via [email protected].
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