Children’s movies keep getting smarter - and Abominable, the latest eye-popping adventure from DreamWorks and Pearl Studios is no exception.
When teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, she and her mischievous friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him "Everest" and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth.
What follows is an epic 2,000-mile adventure from the streets of Shanghai to the breathtaking Himalayan snowscapes;
the animation is consistently stunning - full of vibrant colours and natural beauty as the three young family members try to reunite their adorably fluffy and friendly Yeti with his family. Another nice touch is how Everest seems to have magical powers; able to use the wonders of the planet to escape tricky situations and ultimately evade capture.
Like most children's movies these days (Coco and Moana for example), there are plenty of hidden meanings at the heart of the story.
For Yi it's her journey of learning to grieve, having struggled to show emotions ever since her father's death.
Contrastingly, for her cousin Jin, it's about learning to live life in the real world - when the audience first meets him he's a social media obsessed teenager who only cares about Instagram likes and not getting his boxfresh trainers dirty, but as the story progresses he learns that his online persona isn't the most important thing in his life.
Of course, taking the Yeti home isn't as straight forward as expected; as they all have to stay one-step ahead of the obligatory wealthy villain Burnish (a great turn from Eddie Izzard as a pained adventurer with a cruel exterior but a kind heart) who is intent on capture, aided by zoologist Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson).
Mostly, though, as their journey brings them closer together, it's about the importance of family and the need to be there for each other when times get hard.
Abominable is now showing at The Light Cinema in Wisbech. For screening dates, times and tickets visit www.wisbech.lightcinemas.co.uk/abominable
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