Cleverly inverting the point-of-view from which a tale of human and Yetis would probably be told, 'Smallfoot' tells of a clan of bigfoots living high up in the Himalayan mountains whose peaceful and orderly lives are disrupted when one of their own stumbles upon a smallfoot. It isn't just that these smallfoots have thus far been the stuff of myth; in fact, their very existence goes against the community's long-held beliefs, which are literally set in stone and worn around the neck of the high and mighty Stonekeeper (Common). So as you can probably expect, that very individual is told to either rescind his account or face banishment from the community, but by bravely choosing the latter, opens up a whole new path of knowledge, understanding and enlightenment for his fellow 18-foot hairy denizens.

Adapting from the book 'Yeti Tracks' by animator Sergio Pablos is Dreamworks Animation veteran Karey Kirkpatrick and his co-director Jason Reisig, and the duo fashion a lively, fast-paced and colourful action adventure that sees our hero Migo (Channing Tatum) venture below the clouds concealing their mountaintop habitat to find the smallfoot and prove that he isn't lying or delusional. But had the movie simply been about Migo confronting the ostensibly deceitful Stonekeeper, it would probably be no more than the stuff of Saturday-morning cartoons; instead, Kirkpatrick and co-writer Clare Sera find unexpected depth digging deeper into why the bigfoots had sequestered themselves in the first place, weaving in a poignant lesson on the dangers of fear and close-mindedness as well as the transformative power of communication.

Lest you think that the movie ends up being heavy-handed, we can reassure you that it never does, or for that matter turn preachy. On the contrary, there are plenty of amusing details along the way - like how the exuberant Migo is at first perfectly content to follow in his father's (Danny DeVito) footsteps to have himself catapulted headfirst towards a giant gong every morning in order to wake the sun up; or the band of rebel Yetis called the clandestine Smallfoot Evidentiary Society (or S.E.S. in short),led by the Stonekeeper's own daughter Meechee (Zendaya),who assist Migo on his quest; or how Migo first runs into Percy (James Corden),an animal TV show host whom he will become unlikely buddies with, when the latter in his desperation for clicks tries to convince a fellow reporter to dress up in a Yeti costume so he can pretend to have captured one on camera.

Just as worthy of mention are the couple of Looney Tunes-esque sequences that are clearly meant to hark back to its parent studio's golden era of animation. Migo's initial descent becomes an extended set-piece that includes a tangle with a rope-bridge and its two precipitous cliffs, as well as with the broken body of the propeller plane which Migo had seen the original smallfoot crash-land out of. Later on, a refuge from a blizzard inside a deep cave becomes the scene of a series of comic misunderstandings, including a warming up on top of a pile of burning firewood, an encounter with an irate mother bear who had just put her baby cubs to sleep, and a classic display of language barriers. There is inventiveness in each of these gags, and calibration in both pace and rhythm, so even though they are zippy and zany, they never get too hectic for their own good.

Kids will also love the couple of musical numbers, penned by Karey and his fellow Kirkpatrick brother Wayne, including the narration-and-song opening 'Perfection' by Channing Tatum, the inspirational 'Wonderful Life' by Zendaya, and the edgy rap 'Let It Lie' by Common. To be sure, none of these reach the heights of Disney's 'Frozen' or even 'Moana', but they are definitely catchy enough to sustain their own energetically animated diversions. They also give the off-the-beaten voice cast ample opportunity to demonstrate their lesser-seen (or heard?) talents, and we dare say that Tatum, Zendaya and Common pull off the singing parts beautifully. Those familiar with Corden's 'Carpool Karaoke' series will be glad to know he has a quirky number here too, that is based on Queen's 'Under Pressure'.

So even though 'Smallfoot' never hits the Pixar gold standard of feature animations, or perhaps even the subversive ingenuity of Warner Animation Group's own 'The Lego Movie', there is plenty of fun and laughs to be had in this fable on lies and 'myth-understandings', as well as on mis-communication and the lack thereof. Like we said, you'll be pleasantly surprised that its makers haven't opted for just another superficially glossy piece of kids' entertainment, and have instead decided to evolve the narrative in more complex and satisfying ways. It isn't small or unambitious by any measure, and is in fact big on both entertainment and emotion, so you'll find that there's something for every member of the family - big or small - in this delightfully joyous celebration of wonder, discovery and truth.

My main draw into seeing 'Smallfoot' is my lifelong love of animation. Have always loved it from a young age and still love it now as a young adult in her late-20s. Have said many times recently that with broader knowledge of studios, styles, directors and prolific animators that it is appreciated much more now through adult eyes. Another reason was that it was part of my seeing as many 2018 films as possible with more time on my hands, meaning my to watch and review list is very gradually getting shorter.

'Smallfoot' is neither among the best or worst films of the year for me, if anything it's somewhere in between. Didn't love as much as some do, though their reasons are ones shared, but like it better than some critics did. Are there better animated films out there? Yes, 'Smallfoot' is not in the same class as the best of Disney, Pixar and Studio Ghibli as well as other animated films like 'Watership Down', 'The Prince of Egypt', 'The Iron Giant' and 'The Breadwinner'. Are there worse animations out there? Absolutely yes, whatever one's thoughts on 'Smallfoot' are putting it down there with the likes of 'Foodfight', 'Norm of the North', the animated 'Titanic' films and the worst of Video Brinquedo and Dingo Pictures would be insulting, at least effort was put into 'Smallfoot' even if not everything came off.

Lets start with the good things. 'Smallfoot' is wonderfully animated. The colours are vibrant and richly textured. The backgrounds, with some amazingly vivid landscapes, are meticulous in detail and fluid, with some nice little details and imagination like the hair on the yetis. The characters are nicely modelled, move with freedom rather than being robotic and are cute without being overly cutesy, didn't have a problem with the yeti designs. The soundtrack also peps things up significantly and gives some energy and emotion. The score is dynamic and the songs, not too many this time and spaced out reasonably well, are catchy, surprisingly varied and toe-tapping, fitting in harmony with the visuals on the most part. "Wonderful Life" comes off best, with a close second with "Perfection".

Generally the script wasn't an issue for me, with enough wit and cleverness and not being childish or convoluted. There are more than enough moments to induce laughs (some very funny moments here) and the odd one for tears, with a good deal of warmth that will warm the heart. 'Smallfoot' also includes some educational morals, messages and life lessons that are very much relevant and important to be introduced to younger audiences early, they make their point powerfully without being too heavily delivered. They will educate younger audiences and older ones should appreciate and resonate with them. While the story is predictable, slightly on the safe side and thin on a structural level, it is still very charming, sweet and lively in pace, it shouldn't be difficult to follow for children and shouldn't be too simplistic for adults due to the lessons and serious moments the film has.

Found the characters to be likeable, not much meat in terms of development but they have personality and most don't annoy. Most of the voice acting is terrific, especially with LeBron James (having the most fun),Zendaya and a surprisingly good Channing Tatum. The ending avoids sentimentality bay thankfully.

However, from personal opinion 'Smallfoot' wasn't without drawbacks. In terms of content, it is never dull but with a lot on display it could have slowed down a little and tried not to do as much, parts did feel over-stuffed. Some of the humour didn't work, parts are too random and tended to be inappropriately placed or not needed at all and others like the screaming goat are old and repetitive, a shame because most of the humour is amusing and well judged.

Not all the voice cast worked either. Common came over as even more out of place and ill-fitting as the aforementioned humour, not fitting his character in any way. Do like Danny DeVito but found his distinctive voice somewhat distracting for his character despite the energy he brings, while James Corden (no bias against him at all) wasn't funny or endearing enough. There is an exception of the musical numbers and that is the version/re-write of "Under Pressure", so dreadfully ghastly it makes one cringe, there have been many terrible musical numbers in animation but this is down there.

Overall, wasn't bowled over by it but decent inoffensive entertainment recommeded with a small y. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Migo is a yeti living in an isolated community at the top of a mountain. The yetis have their own unique vision of the world and origin myth which is engraved on ancient stones wore by the Stonekeeper. Migo is learning to ring the gong from his father which raises the snail-sun every morning. One day, he is almost crushed by a crashing plane and he finds the impossible Smallfoot, a human being. Before others can see the evidence, the plane falls off the mountain. Nobody believes him except for a secret society of Smallfoot truthers. He goes down the mountain and encounters Percy Patterson, a struggling internet wildlife presenter.

I really love the yeti world. I love their origin myth and their isolated world view. The human world is far less compelling and I don't like Percy's story. It would be so much easier for Percy to be a climber who finds the yeti community. All that internet stuff is annoying and unnecessary. If not for the yetis, I may not like this movie. I just love these yetis and the ending is lovely.