Smallfoot

Rating: PG
Runtime: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Directors: Karey Kirkpatrick, Jason Resig

Quick Impressions:
“I see,” my mother remarked five minutes into this movie, “so they’re going to subtly undermine the Ten Commandments” (the words on the tablets, not the film).

I couldn’t completely agree with her. I mean, yes, I also found the movie’s early moments evocative of the Ten Commandments. (To paraphrase, “Our society is built on these stone tablets. We actually have the truth from the sky written down on stones.”) And the movie is clearly setting these rules up to knock ’em down. So I agreed with my mother that far. But I wouldn’t call what’s it doing subtle. Nothing about Smallfoot is subtle. Nothing.

As we watched on, I could tell that Mom was not entranced with what she saw, not by any audible clue from her, just from watching the movie myself. If you identify the divinely inspired stone tablets which provide the foundations of the Yeti society as the Ten Commandments (and I mean, why wouldn’t you?), then you’re not going to like where this movie is obviously headed.

The trailer for this animated adventure for kids made its premise sound delightful. High in their mountain top civilization, the Yetis tell themselves legends of the mythical smallfoot, even though most of them don’t believe a real smallfoot could actually exist. But that all changes one day when a chance encounter brings one Yeti face-to-face with a real live smallfoot.

For a kids’ movie, that sounds pretty fun. True, it also sounds like kind of a rip-off of Hotel Transylvania with Yetis instead of monsters, but, honestly, that’s a pretty solid pitch. In fact, I’ll bet that’s how they did pitch this movie. “It’s Hotel Transylvania with Yetis.”  Sounds great!

And that’s what it should be like. If Smallfoot were like that, I think I might really have enjoyed it. Unfortunately, it’s more like The Allegory of the Cave: The Musical.

Actually, that sounds pretty fun, too. I would definitely see that movie. In fact, I think I just did, but it wasn’t as fun I’d hoped.

To be honest, I didn’t like Smallfoot much at all until its third act. Until then, I actually think the Michael Moore documentary I just saw had a greater sense of subtlety and story telling. (That probably sounds like a gross exaggeration, but I’m telling you, Moore’s treatment of Flint’s water crisis felt like the set-up of a new RoboCop movie, whereas many scenes from Smallfoot were so heavy-handed in their attempt at social reprogramming that they felt like some kind of government issued propaganda filmstrip.)

The good news, though, is that my three-year-old was delighted by the opportunity to prove to us that he could be a good boy at the movie theater.

The Good:
This movie was way more interesting than I expected. But I didn’t exactly like it.

I’ve been thinking about The Allegory of the Cave a lot lately (like you do), but I was kind of surprised to see how much it influenced the plot of this animated Channing Tatum vehicle, promoted mostly by trailers featuring a goofy Yeti doing cool dance moves.

If you’ve read Plato’s Republic and don’t think of it as you watch Smallfoot…

Let me restate that, you will think of Plato’s Republic while you watch Smallfoot (maybe even if you haven’t read it). The similarities are not subtle.

I mean, not only is this society built on a noble lie to protect the people from truth they (supposedly) cannot face, but the deceived populace even participates in sustaining the lie by operating various machines that create some of the illusory reality they experience. One of the messages of the movie is to seek truth, to ask questions, to wonder about the true nature of things, even if those in charge do not want you to question anything.

Watching, I could see my mother’s point, her suspicion that Smallfoot was encouraging children to question (perhaps reject) the foundations of our traditionally Judeo-Christian society. But what it’s actually doing is encouraging them to question the foundations of any society.

I kept thinking, “Well, its aims are really more Socratic than anything else. Maybe my mother wouldn’t consider it so insidious if she realized how much it draws on The Republic.“

But then I thought, “Of course, they killed Socrates.”

My husband saw the movie’s aims as more noble than insidious. His take was that the movie was a commentary on the political climate in our nation today. Instead of believing the status quo, we should not be afraid to find out the truth for ourselves. We should think logically and compassionately instead of letting assumptions and traditions hamstring us. We would have fewer misunderstandings if we truly listened and communicated with those different from us instead of reacting with fear or suspicion.

I agree with him that the movie is saying these things and that such aspirations are not only noble but practical. Smallfoot also point blank tells us that instead of infantilizing those we wish to keep safe (like our daughters), we should listen to them, educate them, and give them the information they need to make good decisions for themselves. It also pointedly teaches children that civil disobedience and acts of peaceful protest are a powerful way to get things done.

I actually agree with all these messages. I do see my mother’s point, too, though. I do think Smallfoot suggests that one of the many things we may need to question and reevaluate are our religious traditions. If there’s a choice between having a good relationship with a person and following doctrine, the movie definitely advocates throwing out the doctrine, a choice which may be unpalatable for some.

This is definitely a movie that could generate a fruitful discussion afterwards unless you are afraid of getting into an argument about politics with your in-laws (which seems oddly specific, but I’ll bet a lot of people want to avoid getting into a political argument with relatives right now).

Whether you like what it’s saying or not, Smallfoot is a movie that has a lot to say. In fact, it just won’t shut up about its good news. It’s the door-to-door missionary of children’s movies. (But I’ll talk more about its negative qualities in a minute).

One thing the movie really has going for it are a number of charming performances. Channing Tatum makes Migo the Yeti infectiously sweet, energetic, idealistic, and sincere. Since we’re with him for most of the movie, this is a very good thing.

Also charming is James Corden, voicing the Smallfoot whom Migo rather aggressively befriends. Corden has such a distinctive voice and is quickly building an impressively eclectic filmography. (I wish I had reviewed Peter Rabbit. That’s one of the best children’s movies I’ve seen all year, but I didn’t get the chance to watch it in the theater and write a review.) Corden is quite good at voice work. His character, Percy, doesn’t have great material to work with, but he really makes the most of it.

I haven’t heard Danny DeVito’s wonderfully distinctive voice in a kid’s movie since The Lorax, another film with a lot to say. Perhaps DeVito has an eagerness to edify. I love hearing DeVito deliver his lines because you never have to wonder who is talking.

Also good in supporting roles are LeBron James, Gina Rodriguez, and especially Ely Henry.

I absolutely love Common as the Stonekeeper, particularly his performance of his song.

But by far, my favorite character in the film is Meechee. I wasn’t crazy about her song (which my husband liked), but I agree with him that she performed it beautifully, which is not too surprising since she turned out to be voiced by Zendaya.

Visually, the film is also pretty strong, especially in its final act when there’s more to look at.  At all times, though, the village where the Yeti live is just lovely. It’s no surprise that a well orchestrated lie keeps this place running because a beautifully thriving civilization this perfectly organized does not happen by accident.

Best Scene:
Meechee is the most interesting character in this movie because she does things. (That’s what comes of asking questions and thinking for yourself!) For some reason, Smallfoot waits until it’s third act to remember it’s a movie. It doesn’t just have to tell us what to do, it can show us things happening and attempt to entertain us, too.

When Meechee takes matters into her own hands, things become truly unpredictable for the first time. (I mean, it’s still kind of predictable, but the official story told in the village has been tightly controlled for so long.  Now the story is writing itself in real time, and nobody is sure how it will end.)

I find it kind of cool that this scene of the Yeti “running amok” in the city is a cinematic cliché, yet here it manages to be the freshest part of the movie.

Best Action Sequence:
The snowmobile chase at the end is fun, exciting, and even kind of zany despite all its genuine intensity.

Best Scene Visually:
I’ve been trying to beat my husband’s score on PAC-MAN recently. (Until he reached apple, I never knew for sure what lay past double orange.) So I really appreciated the aerial view of the chase.

The moment when a shocking truth dawns on Migo’s father is also well done.

Best Song:
Even though I’ve seen ten million trailers for Smallfoot, the only star’s name I could seem to remember was Channing Tatum. As I watched, James Corden was easy to recognize, as was Danny DeVito, but many of the others were a lot trickier. My mom was pretty sure Samuel L. Jackson was playing the Stonekeeper, but I wasn’t convinced. Only when he started performing his song did I realize, “Oh, it’s Common!”

He performs his song powerfully, and though some (like my husband) may think that the music is one of the movie’s highlights, I cannot agree. I found most of Smallfoot‘s songs kind of grating with their pointed, artless lyrics. I loved this one, though.

The visuals we get here fill us in on some crucial (though expected) backstory in a captivating way, but it’s Common’s powerful vocals that really make the song work for me.  (It’s just as pointed as all the others, but still, I like it.)

The Negatives:
I have a three-year-old, so I am totally familiar with TV shows targeted at young children. Most of them are educational, designed to teach children math, science, reading, or how to interact socially. And that’s fine.

One of our favorites to watch together, Blaze and the Monster Machines, trots out all these terms used in physics, mechanics, and other practical math. If Blaze gets hung up on a concept like “tensile strength” or “structural integrity,” you can be sure he (and everyone else) will be banging on about it for the rest of the episode. The entire adventure will focus on that concept, and you’ll hear the phrase again and again, especially in the song which is sure to have lyrics lifted straight from a math book or dictionary. There’s also comic relief, of course, and a few well-timed moments of peril. (You won’t just learn about tensile strength … you’ll learn about tensile strength while inside an active volcano!!!!!!)

This is all well and good for a preschool audience, but usually older children get a bit fed up with such pointed infotainment, especially from movies with a theatrical release.

Smallfoot is just too much like an instructional film strip from a classroom, or a propagandist recruitment video issued by a government or a cult. Forgetting that most people come to the movies for entertainment, this film is relentlessly, almost offensively instructional. It’s just too pointed with too much message and too little artistry.

It really, really, really wants you to question authority. I mean, it basically begins by saying, “Our society is built on lies, just like yours.” Imagine a super friendly voice from a kids’ show, “Here, let me show you.” Actually, you could imagine LeVar Burton, “But don’t take my word for it.” (The thing is, Reading Rainbow is way more entertaining and exciting than this movie, and it’s literally at least 70 percent someone reading you a book.)

I found this overbearing desire to instruct annoying and artless. Within five seconds, most adults know something is up, and within ten, they know what. I knew almost immediately that we were getting a snow-capped re-imagining of The Allegory of the Cave. My mother didn’t think that exactly. She thought the movie was trying to instill the belief in wide-eyed young viewers that Judeo-Christian religion is wrong/deserving of ridicule.

Basically the only people who won’t see the obviousness of this movie’s agenda are little children. They probably won’t realize how much the movie affected their young thoughts and actions until they are much older and see it again as adults.

In case the movie’s message isn’t completely obvious immediately, it continues to reach out to us through song, very specifically telling us exactly what to do.

(Charitably, I could call the songs in the movie operatic. They (wordily) describe the characters’ interior struggles, tell us (exactly) what to do, give us (obvious) backstory, advance the (predictable) plot. But for Smallfoot to work as opera or operetta, it would need more songs, many more songs.)

Meechee’s song particularly got on my nerves. It was pleasingly melodic, and Zendaya has a lovely singing voice, of course, but good grief! It’s hard to tell my mother she’s being paranoid when for some reason, while deep inside a snow cave, Meechee leads Migo right up to a green tree while singing that we must always question everything, that curiosity is not bad, that anyone who tries to keep you from reaching out and finding information is bad.

Here’s the thing. I agree with what the movie is beating us over the head with again and again. We are often deliberately given misinformation to keep us “safe.” Curiosity is healthy, not only natural but necessary. Like my mother, I am a Christian (a Catholic) and I believe that we’ve been given curiosity and reason and intellect so we can use them. And I believe it is absolutely stupid to turn away from any human being because of some ancient absolute you think you understand.

So I don’t view the movie as quite as insidious as my mother does. But I think she is right that it is attempting to influence the thoughts and behavior of unsuspecting children. Almost all children’s entertainment does this. (Maybe that’s why my son begs to watch videos of YouTubers playing with toys. He’s like, “Please, no more education! I just want to be indoctrinated into a lifestyle of Capitalist excess in peace!”)

But that’s my big complaint really. This movie is no fun. It expresses its (emphatic) aims with no artistry or subtlety. It’s far too on the nose to be enjoyable.  (There’s also something grating about a movie that feels it needs to brainwash us to think for ourselves.  If you want people to think for themselves, maybe give them the option instead of trying to reprogram them!  Otherwise it comes across as, “Hey, you’ve been brainwashed to do something!  Let me brainwash you to do something else instead!”)