Not to be confused with the excellent killer Bigfoot film of the same name from 2006, this quiet hit (I’d never even heard of it till a couple of weeks ago) is a “kid’s movie.” As there are quite a lot of monster fans who have children, or who are, like me, simply fans of animation (my lovely wife and I were that creepy couple at the theater without children during the matinee showing we attended), I will include this one for review here. It’s adorable and gorgeous to look at, and the story, while somewhat familiar—the protagonist is a girl who has lost a parent, as such kids in these sorts of movies tend to have suffered some sort of similar trauma from which they must recover, and the plot contains no real surprises (save for one possible little one, a heel turn that I didn’t expect from one of the characters)—it does offer a novel take on the legendary Yeti, depicting it as both a flesh-and-blood animal and a supernatural entity at the same time.
I will comment again on the stunning visuals that are on display. There are some strong contenders for the Best Animated Movie award at next year’s Oscars (notably the third HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON film, also from Dreamworks), but there won’t be any that are, to put it simply, prettier. If you have an appreciation for a little wholesome monster fare, check this one out.