Smallfoot (film)

Smallfoot
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Karey Kirkpatrick
Produced by	Bonne Radford Glenn Ficarra John Requa
Screenplay by	Karey Kirkpatrick Clare Sera
Story by	John Requa Glenn Ficarra Karey Kirkpatrick
Based on	Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablos
Starring	Channing Tatum James Corden Zendaya Common LeBron James Danny DeVito Gina Rodriguez Yara Shahidi Ely Henry Jimmy Tatro
Music by	Heitor Pereira[1]
Edited by	Peter Ettinger
Production companies	Warner Animation Group[2] Zaftig Films[2]
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures[2]
Release date	September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28) (United States)
Running time	96 minutes[3]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$80 million[4]
Box office	$110.2 million[5]

Smallfoot is a 2018 American 3D computer-animated comedy adventure film produced by the Warner Animation Group. Based on the book Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablos, the film was co-written and directed by Karey Kirkpatrick, and stars the voices of Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common, LeBron James, Gina Rodriguez, Danny DeVito, Yara Shahidi, Ely Henry, and Jimmy Tatro. The plot follows a group of Yeti who come across a human, with each species thinking the other was just a myth.

Smallfoot was theatrically released in the United States on September 28, 2018, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It received a moderately positive reception from critics and has grossed over $110 million worldwide.

Plot

Yetis live in on the top of a mountain in the Himalayas, Nepal ^[6], above the clouds and hidden away from sight. Migo is a Yeti who abides by the law of the ancient stones held by the Stonekeeper, the leader. Migo's father, Dorgle projects himself through the air each morning to ring the gong with his head so that the sun can pass over the sky. While learning how to ring the gong, Migo gets distracted by the Stonekeeper's daughter, Meechee, whom he loves, and misses the gong and lands outside the village. There, Migo witnesses a plane crash and finds a "smallfoot" (human), whom the Yetis have taken for being legends. Migo runs back to tell the villagers what he saw, but has no proof. The Stonekeeper banishes him from the village.

Migo is suddenly visited by Gwangi, Kolka, and Fleem who bring him to the Smallfoot Evidentiary Society (S.E.S.), which is led by Meechee. She convinces Migo to go along with their plan of going below the clouds despite the stones telling them that there is nothing underneath. After some hesitation, Migo agrees to go, but the rope he is tied to snaps and Migo falls through the clouds where he discovers land underneath.

Percy Patterson is a wildlife documentary filmmaker who has lost his integrity. He meets the pilot who saw the Yeti and tries to convince his assistant, Brenda, to dress up as a Yeti so that they can film their exploits, but she abandons him instead. Migo arrives at the local pub and unknowingly scares Percy when trying to communicate with him.

Migo takes Percy with him and they stop in a cave to wait out a blizzard. While chasing after Percy, Migo gets his toe caught in a bear trap and Percy takes pity on him by removing the trap and bandaging Migo's wound with duct tape. Migo finally manages to get through to Percy, who agrees to go with him and they head back up the mountain, where they are reunited with the S.E.S. The village is confused by Percy's appearance, but happily accept him and learn about his culture; much to Stonekeeper's dismay. Afterwards, Stonekeeper takes Migo inside the palace and reveals the truth to him: Yetis used to live below the clouds, but were forced away by the humans who attacked them. To keep them safe, they created the stones that made the laws and rules. In order to protect the village, Migo agrees to keep up the lie by saying that Percy, who is beginning to experience high altitude sickness, is just a hairless wild yak. Stonekeeper takes Percy and locks him in a box, so Percy can get more ill. Migo later discovers that Meechee took Percy away to return him home. Migo jumps down the mountain with Gwangi and Kolka, following suit.

After dropping off Percy, Meechee becomes distracted by the wonders in the city and begins to accidentally cause a disruption. Meechee is attacked by the police, but is rescued by Migo. The Yetis try to make it back to the mountain, but are chased by a SWAT helicopter that is taken down by the Stonekeeper using his stones. Aside from Migo, the Yetis escape to safety. Afterwards, Percy arrives on his snowmobile and reluctantly shoots Migo with a tranquilizer gun to save him. The police chase what they think is Migo (actually Percy in disguise). When the police capture him, they see it is Percy. Percy is arrested for public disturbance and fraud.

Back at the village, inside the palace, Migo and Stonekeeper explain the truth to the Yetis while Migo apologizes for lying to them. Migo tells the others that even though humans may still be scared of the Yetis, they should still try to communicate with them. The Yetis leave the village and are confronted by the police. Percy, out performing community service, and Brenda emerge from the crowd and stand up for the Yetis. The rest of the humans slowly welcome the Yetis and accept them into their lives.

Cast

• Channing Tatum as Migo, a Yeti gong-banger apprentice who is determined to prove the existence of the Smallfoot and Dorgle's son.
• James Corden as Percy Patterson, a former TV personality and wildlife documentary filmmaker trying to get back in the spotlight.
• Zendaya as Meechee, a female Yeti, the Stonekeeper's daughter, Thorp's sister, the leader of Smallfoot Evidentiary Society (S.E.S.), and Migo's love interest.
• Common as The Stonekeeper, Thorp and Meechee's father and the condescending Yeti chief.
• LeBron James as Gwangi, a big Yeti who is part of the S.E.S.
• Gina Rodriguez as Kolka, a female Yeti who is part of the S.E.S.
• Danny DeVito as Dorgle, a short Yeti who is the village gong-banger and Migo's widowed father.
• Yara Shahidi as Brenda, Percy's morally-conscious assistant who doesn't believe in Yetis.
• Ely Henry as Fleem, a small, obnoxious Yeti who is part of the S.E.S.
• Jimmy Tatro as Thorp, a slow-witted Yeti who's the Stonekeeper's son and Meechee's brother.
• Justin Roiland as Garry, a nervous and overreactive Yeti who easily gets anxious over the existence of the Smallfoot.
• Patricia Heaton as Mama Bear, an Himalayan black bear who gets grumpy when Percy accidentally disturbs her and her family's hibernation.
• Jack Quaid as Pilot, a human pilot who crashes on the mountain and encounters Migo at the beginning of the film.

Production

The legend of the Yeti and the book Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablos inspired the story.

Writers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa conceived of Smallfoot, interested in a story about Yeti or Bigfoot; they drew inspiration from the book Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablos.^[7]

The concept for Smallfoot was in development before director Karey Kirkpatrick joined the project in July 2016; he viewed an animatic in which Percy was a "ski bum type". Kirkpatrick also said Meechee was undeveloped, and she was made head of the S.E.S. in rewrites.^[8] Observing Brexit and a rise in nationalism, Kirkpatrick also drew inspiration:

Truth was under attack ... certainly phrases like alternative facts were being thrown around. So, it became an age of misinformation fueled by agendas that are often fueled by fear. And like, 'I want this result, and so I am skewing the truth.' That is just in the zeitgeist.^[9]

On May 11, 2017, it was announced that the film was in-production with Channing Tatum, Zendaya, and Gina Rodriguez providing the lead voice roles.^[10] The film was animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks, who had also provided animation for the Warner Animation Group's Storks. Ryan O'Loughlin, a DreamWorks Animation veteran, was originally the film's director, but was replaced by Kirkpatrick.^[11]

Release

The film was released on September 28, 2018.^[14]

Reception

References

External links

• Official website
• Smallfoot on IMDb