Smallfoot

"Smallfoot" is a slight animated effort that wholeheartedly lives up to its namesake by leaving as minimal a footprint on the viewer's memory as possible. The story follows a yeti named Migo (voiced by Channing Tatum), who stumbles upon a human and is convinced he's found the mythical creature known as "Smallfoot." With the help of his friends in the SES (Smallfoot Evidentiary Society), Migo sets out on a mission to prove to his society of stone-worshipping yetis that Smallfoot exists.

Stone-worshipping society, you say? Just as most animated kids movies do, "Smallfoot" is riddled with not-so-subtle allegory that is meant to teach a certain lesson. In this case, the film stresses the importance of asking questions of oppressive norms and challenging age-old ideas.

The yeti community is run by the Stonekeeper (voiced by Common), who wears an outfit made of various stones that could essentially be deemed "The Hundred Commandments." The stones are filled with wild ideas, such as the fact that the sun (referred to as "the snail in the sky") will only rise if a yeti is propelled headfirst into a gong right at the break of dawn.

The final result is a choppy combination of animated adventurism, tedious musical numbers and painstakingly force-fed metaphors. The kids will love the flashy animation and relentless physical humor (often reminiscent of Looney Tunes), but the mileage of adults will certainly vary. The film tests your patience, for sure, the zenith being a musical number that "reimagines" the song "Under Pressure" by Freddie Mercury and David Bowie, both of whom I imagined rolling in their graves. Regardless, there are worse ways to spend a Saturday morning with the kids.