Abominable

Theatrical release poster

***Abominable*** is a 2019 computer-animated adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio. It was written and directed by Jill Culton and co-directed by Todd Wilderman, and stars the voices of Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson, Tsai Chin and Michelle Wong.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on September 27, 2019 while Pearl Studio distributed the film in China. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.

## Plot

A young Yeti escapes from a compound in Shanghai 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 Yi and Nai Nai in an apartment building. She lives a busy life and neglects to spend time with her family and her friends, football fan Peng and the tech-savvy and popular Jin. Yi is also a violinist who misses her late father, who was also a violinist.

One evening, Yi encounters the Yeti near her cubby house on the roof of her Shanghai apartment building, which she names "Everest." While hiding him from Burnish Industries' helicopters, Yi gains his trust by feeding him Baozi and treating his wounds. Yi learns that Everest wants to reunite with his family on Mount Everest while Everest learns about Yi's desire to travel across China. When Burnish Industries' private security forces closes in on Everest' hiding place, Everest flees with Yi. After narrowly escaping a Burnish helicopter at the Oriental Pearl Tower, Yi and Everest flee on a ship carrying red cola 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 among blueberry plants. Meanwhile, Mr. Burnish and the zoologist Dr. Zara continue the hunt for Everest. Following Everest and his human friends' trail, they catch up with them in the Sichuan region but Everest uses his power to cause a plant to grow to a gigantic size. While Yi, Everest, and Peng manage to escape on the wind-blown shoot, Jin is left behind and captured by Burnish Industries' Goon Leader.

Despite Dr. Zara's outward love for animals, Jin learns that she is planning to hunt down and kill the yeti for medical research. He also learns that the seemingly cold–hearted Mr. Burnish has a soft spot for animals including Dr. Zara's pet jerboa. Meanwhile Yi, Everest and Peng reach the Gobi Desert where they befriend several tortoises, who gratefully accept their giant shoot. Later, they travel to a town on the banks of the Yellow River but Burnish Industries corners them. Peng helps them escape by unleashing a yak stampede. With the help of Jin, they escape across the Yellow River to a field of yellow flowers, which Everest causes to blossom to gargantuan sizes.

Continuing their journey, the humans and Everest eventually reach the Himalayas. While crossing a bridge, they are trapped on both sides by Burnish Industries' forces. However, Mr. Burnish experiences a change of heart after seeing Everest protecting the children; causing him to experience a flashback to his first encounter with the yeti which was protecting its young. Seeking to exploit Everest for scientific research, Dr. Zara injects Mr. Burnish with a tranquilizer before tranquilizing Everest as well. When Yi tries to protect Everest, Dr. Zara throws her over the bridge. Burnish Industries 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, which Everest has magically repaired, to summon ice which reinvigorates Everest, who breaks free of his cage. Dr. Zara makes a last-ditch attempt to kill Everest but the poacher is herself killed along with the Goon Leader in a self-triggered avalanche. To protect Everest and the yetis from humanity, Mr. 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.

Returning home to Shanghai with the help of Mr Burnish, Yi spends more time with her mother, grandmother, Peng, and Jin.

## Cast

* Chloe Bennet as Yi
* Albert Tsai as Peng
* Tenzing Norgay Trainor as Jin
* Eddie Izzard as Mr. Burnish
* Sarah Paulson as Dr. Zara
* Tsai Chin as Nai Nai
* Michelle Wong as Yi's mother
* Rich Dietl as Goon Leader
* James Hong as Yak Leader
* Christine Lin as Teenage Girl #1, Boy's Mother, Female Customer
* Kym Miller as Teenage Girl #2
* Jason Ko as Teenage Boy
* Trevor Devall as Van Driver
* Karen Huie as Dog Lady, Doc Worker
* Vic Chao as Jin Impersonator
* Fernando Chien as Merchant
* Rupert Gregson-Williams as Everest Humming

## Production

*Abominable* was in development at DreamWorks Animation since 2010. For some time, Jill Culton was writing and directing the film, originally titled *Everest*, which was about a little girl and a Yeti, but by 2016, she had left the project. She was then replaced by Tim Johnson and Todd Wilderman.

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 (now Pearl Studio), marking their second collaboration after *Kung Fu Panda 3*. On February 2, 2018, it was announced that Culton had returned as the director, replacing Johnson. On March 20, 2018, it was announced that Chloe Bennet has been cast in the lead role as Yi. On May 18, 2018, DreamWorks and Pearl Studio have announced that the film has been retitled from *Everest* to *Abominable*, and Albert Tsai, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, and Tsai Chin were cast the following month.

TBD

## Release

*Abominable* had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019. The film was released on September 27, 2019 in the United States and will be released October 11 in the United Kingdom by Universal Pictures. Universal will also handle worldwide distribution alongside various regional partners except for China, where the film will be 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.

### Marketing

The first official trailer was shown before *Dumbo* on March 29, 2019. The second official trailer was released on May 23, 2019, and was the first to be uploaded online.

## Reception

### Box office

As of September 29, 2019, *Abominable* has grossed $20.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $10.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $31.1 million, against a production budget of $75 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross $17–20 million from 4,200 theaters in its opening weekend. 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.

### Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 94 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Working with admittedly familiar ingredients, *Abominable* offers audiences a beautifully animated and overall engaging adventure that the whole family can enjoy." On Metacritic, the film has an weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 4 out of 5 stars.