Reel Review Roundup

Smallfoot (G)

Directed by: Karey Kirkpatrick, Jason Reisig

Starring: Channing Tatum, Zandaya, Danny DeVito

Three and a half stars

Review by: Julian Wright

There are many life lessons and themes for the ankle-biters to digest these school holidays with Smallfoot.

With a little inspiration from Pixar, the story gives a cute twist to the legend of the Yeti, in which the creatures are actually real and the humans are the mythical beings whose existence has not been proven.

Pulling back the curtain on life as a Yeti (what do they get up to when people are not looking – along the lines of the toys in Toy Story, the monsters in Monsters Inc. etc), we get to see a village of the furry folks go about their daily routine high on a Himalayan mountain above the clouds.

Everyone has a role in the village and a strict routine must be adhered to to maintain harmony (their heritage and rules etched in rocks), but when Migo (Channing Tatum) encounters a human, a pilot who has crash landed, he begins to question everything he has been taught by his elders.

Joined by a group of outcast conspiracy theorists. including Meechee (Zendaya), Migo seeks to find the truth about the human and Yeti existence.

What starts out as a fun, fluffy adventure for youngsters, with a couple of musical numbers to get toes tapping, eventually becomes quite complicated and complex.

Much detail is given about the Yeti village and how it operates, which is paid off later in the film when a twist is revealed, but the mechanics, logistics and reasons behind them may prove too complex to follow for the under fives.

The story plays out as a metaphor for overcoming racism and segregation, but once the themes and messages become quite apparent in the later stages of the film, with a lengthy monologue, it segues into some darker territory.

When it starts to hint at genocide, it may fly over many of the littlest heads in the audience.

Of course, these are relevant and topical themes to explore and they do give the adults something to ponder as the kids enjoy the slapstick and songs.

Watch the trailer here.

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