Smallfoot (2018) Review

"If you die, can I have all your worldly possessions?"

-Flem

Above the clouds, on top of massive mountain, a group of yetis live in peace and harmony believing there is nothing more to the world apart from their mountaintop.  One day, Migo (Channing Tatum) witnesses a plane crash and has a brief encounter with a supposedly mythical creature, a smallfoot.  All of the evidences is knocked of the side of the mountain before anyone else can see it and when Migo continues to try and convince everyone of the smallfoot's existence, he is banished by their leader, Stonekeeper (Common), who doesn't like anyone questioning his rules.  Migo decides to descend below the clouds to find proof of the existence of the smallfoot, prove Stonekeeper wrong, and reverse his banishment.

What Works:

Smallfoot is a kids' movie and I think it's important for kids' movies to have a message and Smallfoot has a great one.  The ultimate takeaway is to question authority and think for yourself.  This is something I believe is really important for kids to learn and Smallfoot executes well on delivering that message.

Going hand-in-hand with the message is the film's villain, Stonekeeper, who is voiced by Common.  He is easily the best part of this movie.  He is a surprisingly complex villain who at first simply seems like a guy who likes having power and doesn't want anyone questioning him.  Over the course of the film we learn more about his motivation's and find out he actually has really good reasons for why he does what he does.  It was really unexpected and refreshing to see such a three-dimensional villain, especially in a movie like this.

Finally, there was plenty of legitimately funny moments.  There is loads of comedy throughout the film and most of it works.  Jimmy Tatro has a small role as Stonekeeper's son and he nails it every time he is on screen.

What Sucks:

Apart from Tatro, the supporting cast is mostly wasted.  LeBron James and Gina Rodriguez get almost nothing to do and Danny Danny DeVito is underused as well.  It's a shame they didn't do more with such a talented cast.

None of our main characters are nearly as interesting as Stonekeeper.  Channing Tatum and Zendaya are mostly blank slates and don't have a ton of personality.  They're fine, but not super interesting.  As for James Corden, he's got personality, but could have gotten some more to do.  He's mostly just along for the ride.

The movie's biggest problem is the conflict during the 3rd act.  Most of the movie is Migo vs. Stonekeeper, which I really liked because Stonekeeper is such an engaging villain, but that conflict is basically resolved by the 3rd act and the movie becomes humans vs. yetis, which isn't nearly as interesting.

Verdict:

Smallfoot wastes most of its talent with mostly underused and uninteresting characters and has a poor 3rd act, but as far as kids movies go, it's a got a great message, an interesting and complex villain, and is legitimately funny.  It's got some flaws, but you could do far worse when it comes to kids' movies.  For the most part, Smallfoot has got it going on.

 7/10: Good