| Abominable | |
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.png) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jill Culton |
| Written by | Jill Culton[1] |
| Produced by | Suzanne Buirgy Peilin Chou |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | Pamela Ziegenhagen-Shefland |
| Music by | Rupert Gregson-Williams |
Production companies |
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Release dates | |
Running time | 97 minutes[7] |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $75 million |
| Box office | $188 million[7][8] |
Abominable is a 2019 animatedadventure film produced byDreamWorks Animation andPearl Studio. Written and directed byJill Culton, the film stars the voices ofChloe Bennet,Albert Tsai,Tenzing Norgay Trainor,Eddie Izzard,Sarah Paulson, andTsai Chin. It follows a teenage girl named Yi (Bennet) who encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, names him Everest and embarks on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth along with her mischievous friends Jin (Trainor) and Peng (Tsai), but the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish (Izzard), a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara (Paulson) to help Everest get home.
The film was announced in 2010 as its original titleEverest. By 2016, Culton passed on the project after being replaced by Wilderman andTim Johnson, but eventually rejoined in February 2018, replacing Johnson, who remained with the project as an executive producer. DreamWorks announced in December 2016 that the film would be released in September 2019, with Pearl Studio and Zhong Ming You Ying Film co-producing the film. The cast were announced between March and June 2018. In May 2018, DreamWorks changed the title toAbominable. The music in the film was scored byRupert Gregson-Williams.
Abominable premiered at theToronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and was released byUniversal Pictures in the United States on September 27[9][10][11] while Pearl Studio distributed the film in China.[5] The film received generally positive reviews from critics for its animation and grossed over $188 million worldwide on a production budget of $75 million.
InSoutheast Asia,Abominable has garnered controversy for a scene involving a map of the region with thenine-dash line, a contesteddemarcation line used byChina to lay claim over a portion of theSouth China Sea. Due to this, the film has been banned in several countries involved interritorial disputes with China over the South China Sea—namely, thePhilippines,Vietnam, andMalaysia.
A follow-up television series,Abominable and the Invisible City, was released on streaming servicePeacock andHulu from October 2022 to March 2023.
A youngYeti escapes from a compound inShanghai owned by wealthy businessman Mr. Burnish, who intends to use him to prove the existence of yetis to the world. Meanwhile, teenager Yi lives with her mother and Nai Nai (grandmother) in an apartment building. She leads a busy life, and neglects to spend time with her family and her friends, basketball fan Peng and his tech-savvy and popular older cousin Jin, who is on bad terms with Yi. Yi is a violinist, but has not played in front of others since her father's death, as he was a violinist, too. Instead, she goes to the rooftop of her home and plays a song her father taught her each night.
One evening, Yi encounters the Yeti near her cubby house on the roof of her apartment building, and names him "Everest". While hiding him from Burnish Industries's helicopters, Yi gains his trust by feeding himbaozi and treating his wounds. Yi learns that Everest wants to reunite with his family onMount Everest, while Everest learns about Yi's desire to travel across China - something her father had always wanted. When Burnish Industries's private security forces close in on Everest's hiding place, Everest flees with Yi. Peng and Jin follow behind the duo. After narrowly escaping a Burnish helicopter at theOriental Pearl Tower, Yi and Everest flee on a ship carrying redcola cans, followed by Peng and a reluctant Jin.
Yi, Everest, and the boys reach a port in southern China and travel on a truck. After their crate falls off the truck, they end up in a forest. There, Everest awes the humans with his mystical powers of stimulating growth amongblueberry plants. Meanwhile, Mr. Burnish and zoologist Dr. Zara continue the hunt for Everest. Following Everest and his human friends' trail, they catch up with them in theSichuan region, where Everest uses his power to cause adandelion to grow to a gigantic size. While Yi, Everest, and Peng manage to escape on the wind-blown seed head, Jin is left behind and captured by Burnish Industries's Goon Leader.
Despite Zara's pretense of caring for animals, Jin learns that she is planning to hunt down Everest to sell him, and that the Goon Leader is working alongside her. He also learns that the seemingly cold-hearted Burnish has a soft spot for animals, including Zara's pet albinojerboa Duchess. He manages to escape the camp, and pursues the others on foot. Meanwhile, Yi, Everest, and Peng reach theGobi Desert, where they befriend severaltortoises, who gratefully accept the giant dandelion. Later, they travel to a town on the banks of theYellow River, where Burnish Industries corners them. Peng helps them escape by unleashing ayak stampede. With the help of Jin, they escape across the Yellow River to a field of yellow flowers, which Everest causes to move like waves, creating more distance from their pursuers. In the process, Yi's violin in broken, but Everest mends it using his own hair, giving the violin his powers.
Continuing their journey, which Yi realizes echoes her father's dream trip exactly, the humans and Everest eventually reach theHimalayas. While crossing a bridge, they are trapped on both sides by Burnish Industries's forces. However, Burnish experiences a change of heart after seeing Everest protecting the children, causing him to experience a flashback to his first encounter with a female yeti, which was protecting her young. Still seeking to sell Everest, Zara betrays Burnish by injecting him with a tranquilizer dart before doing the same to Everest as well. Yi tries to protect Everest, but gets hurled over the bridge by Zara, who then departs the mountain with the captive Everest, Peng, and Jin in tow.
However, Yi manages to cling on to a rope. She then uses her violin, to summon ice. This reinvigorates Everest, who breaks free of his cage. Losing what is left of her sanity, Zara attempts to kill Everest and sell his parts instead. The avalanche she causes knocks her and her Goon Leader off the cliffside, to their deaths. To protect Everest and the yetis, Burnish agrees to help Yi, Peng, and Jin keep his existence a secret. Yi, Peng, Jin, and Everest continue the journey to Mount Everest, where they reunite Everest with his family before departing.
Returning home to Shanghai with the help of Burnish, Yi spends more time with her mother, grandmother, Peng, and Jin.
Abominable was in development atDreamWorks Animation since 2010.[13] For some time,Jill Culton was writing and directing the film, originally titledEverest, which was about a little girl and a Yeti,[14][15] but by 2016, she had left the project. She was then replaced byTim Johnson and Todd Wilderman.[16]
In December 2016, DreamWorks announced that the film would be released on September 27, 2019, and that it would be co-produced by Oriental DreamWorks (nowPearl Studio), marking their second collaboration afterKung Fu Panda 3 (2016).[16] On February 2, 2018, it was announced that Culton had returned as the writer and director for the film, replacing Johnson who became an executive producer with Frank Zhu and Li Ruigang.[17] On March 20, 2018, it was announced thatChloe Bennet has been cast in the lead role as Yi.[18] On May 18, 2018, DreamWorks and Pearl Studio announced that the film has been retitled fromEverest toAbominable,[19] andAlbert Tsai,Tenzing Norgay Trainor, andTsai Chin were cast the following month.[20]
Overall, the budget was approximately $75 million.[7]
The film's music was composed byRupert Gregson-Williams, who had previously collaborated with the studio onOver the Hedge (2006) andBee Movie (2007).[21] Also featured on the soundtrack is an original song titled "Beautiful Life" sung by American musician,Bebe Rexha.[22] The film also featured a version ofColdplay'sFix You.[23] The soundtrack was released digitally on September 13, 2019, byBack Lot Music.
Abominable had its world premiere at theToronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019.[24] The film was released on September 27, 2019, in the United States and on October 11 in the United Kingdom byUniversal Pictures. Universal also handles worldwide distribution alongside various regional partners except for China, where the film was solely distributed by co-producer Pearl Studio, who (under their former name of Oriental DreamWorks) had distributed all of DreamWorks Animation's films in the country since the partnership began.
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The film was banned in Vietnam on October 14, 2019, ten days after its release, due to the appearance of thenine-dash line in a scene.[25][26][27] The Philippines and Malaysia also reacted negatively to this scene.[28][29] Filipino lawyer Jay Batongbacal requested that the film be banned,[30] while the Philippines'Secretary of Foreign AffairsTeodoro Locsin Jr. thought it was better to cut the scene in question.[31][32] On October 17, Malaysia ordered the scene be cut from the film through itsfilm censorship board.[33][34] However, after Universal refused to make the censor cut, the film was banned entirely in Malaysia.[35][36] The following day, the Philippines'Movie and Television Review and Classification Board followed suit, also banning the film.[37]
Abominable was released on digital andMovies Anywhere byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment on December 3, 2019, withBlu-ray,4K Ultra HD andDVD releases following on December 17.[38] All releases included two short films likeShow and Tell, a short focusing on Everest showing the Yetis of the human life, animated by Company 3 Animation,[39] andMarooned, which had previously been screened at the 2019Annecy International Animated Film Festival and as part of a cross-promotion between DreamWorks Animation andAMC Theatres.[40] The 4K Ultra HD version additionally usesHDR10+,[38] making it Universal's second animated film to use the format afterThe Secret Life of Pets 2 and their sixth film overall.
Abominable has grossed $60.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $127.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $188.7 million, against a production budget of $75 million.[7][8]
In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross $17–20 million from 4,200 theaters in its opening weekend.[41] The film made $5.7 million on its first day, including $650,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $20.9 million, finishing first at the box office and marking the best opening for an original animated film of 2019.[42] The film made $12 million in its second weekend, finishing second behind newcomerJoker.[43]
Rotten Tomatoes reported that 83% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 169 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Working with admittedly familiar ingredients,Abominable offers audiences a beautifully animated and overall engaging adventure that the whole family can enjoy."[44] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[45] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those atPostTrak gave it an average 4 out of 5 stars.[42]
Brian Tallerico ofRogerEbert.com gaveAbominable two out of four stars, opining that it "lack[ed] the personality to distinguish it from superior animated films that cover most of the same ground."[46] Similarly,Peter Travers ofRolling Stone gave the film 2.5 out of five stars, likening it to fellow DreamWorks filmHow to Train Your Dragon (2010). While praising Yi's violin music and the animated scenes featuring whooping snakes and Everest' visual wonders, he thought thatAbominable failed to distinguish itself in a crowded market.[47]Glenn Kenny ofThe New York Times praised the film for its "exceptionally watchable and amiable" story and animated visual effects.[48]
Clarissa Loughrey ofThe Independent gaveAbominable three out of five stars, describing the film as "occasionally original, but not quite daring enough." She also praised the director Jill Culton for writing Yi as a grounded and authentic female protagonist while avoiding forcing her to prove herself and shoe-horned romances.[49] Nick De Semiyen ofEmpire magazine awardedAbominable three out of five stars. He praised the film for its first female animated film director Culton, female lead character Yi, and for embracing its Chinese milieu including Yi's grandma Nai Nai. However, he observed that the film brought nothing new to the animation medium but praised it for incorporating a reference toIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade.[50]
Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian gaveAbominable two out of five stars, regarding the yeti as a bland character and observing the film's similarities toHow to Train Your Dragon andE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[51] By contrast, Simran Hans ofThe Observer gave the film a more favorable review, awarding it three out of five stars. She praised the film for its animation effects of the yeti's magical powers and also likened the film toHow to Train Your Dragon.[52]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref. |
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| Annie Awards | January 25, 2020 | Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Production | Amaury Aubel, James Jackson, Domin Lee, Michael Losure, and Alex Timchenko | Nominated | [53] |
| Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Feature Production | Nico Marlet | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production | Max Boas, Paul Duncan, Christopher Brock, Cecline Da Hyeu Kim, and Jane Li | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production | Tenzing Norgay Trainor | Nominated | |||
| Casting Society of America | January 30, 2020 | Animation | Christi Soper Hilt | Nominated | [54] |
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | January 12, 2020 | Best Animated Feature | Abominable | Nominated | [55] |
| Producers Guild of America Awards | January 18, 2020 | Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures | Abominable | Nominated | [56] |
| Visual Effects Society Awards | January 29, 2020 | Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature | Alex Timchenko, Domin Lee, Michael Losure and Eric Warren | Nominated | [57] |
| Art Directors Guild Awards | February 1, 2020 | Animated Film | Max Boas | Nominated | [58] |
| Saturn Awards | October 26, 2021 | Best Animated Film | Abominable | Nominated | [59] |
On February 11, 2022, it was announced thatPeacock had ordered a CG animated series fromDreamWorks Animation Television serving as a follow up to the film, titledAbominable and the Invisible City. The series chronicles Yi, Jin and Peng learning more about Everest and the magical creatures of the world.Spirit Riding Free workers Jim Schumann and Katherine Nolfi executive produce the series, Tiffany Lo and Ethel Lung serve as story editors, Bennet and Trainor reprised their roles of Yi and Jin from the film withAlan Cumming replacing Izzard as Burnish.[60][61] The series was released on October 5, 2022, with 10 episodes on Peacock andHulu.[62] Season 2 premiered on March 29, 2023.
We have a project tentatively titled Everest, but that's a temp title. It's about a little girl and a Yeti, and the writer-director is Jill Culton.
Culton, who made her directorial debut with Sony's Open Season, is currently writing and directing a film about a young girl and a Yeti for DWA with the working title Everest.
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