Channing Tatum, Zendaya and LeBron James in the same film? | Smallfoot (2018)
Okay, we’re starting this one off right with reason number 5 - what if I told you there was a 2018 movie that starred Channing Tatum, Zendaya, LeBron James, Frank Reynolds, Common, Gina Rodriguez and Jimmy Tatro, written and directed by the guy who wrote James and the Giant Peach and that vampire movie with the kid from Jerry Maguire? And what if I told you Channing Tatum, Zendaya, Common and James Corden each sing their own songs and they’re not that bad? Yeah, this movie exists and it’s called Smallfoot. I am Jason Kleeberg, this is Force Five, and today I’m going to give you 4 more reasons you might like Small Foot.
Reason number 4, if you like movies about Yetis, the abominable snow man or Big Foot, this one probably flew underneath your radar. It was among a few animated movies about Yetis during the late 10’s, along with Missing Link and Abominable and it focuses on Migo, a Yeti who finds a human after his plane crashes on the mountain he lives on. But no one believes Migo because his community is rooted in tradition and things written on stones that everyone blindly follows. For example, they think that someone needs to be launched into a gong in the morning to bring the sun up, and on one of the stones it says that smallfoot doesn’t exist. After he’s exiled for insisting that he saw a smallfoot, he goes on a journey to find proof that they exist. The B-story revolves around Percy, a content creator who got into the game to celebrate animals, but has fallen into the trap of trying to do whatever he can to get views and his newest idea is to fake a yeti sighting.
Reason number 3, the animation here is really beautiful. The film takes place in the ice and snow in what I assume is the Himalayas and it looks wonderful. The yeti village feels bright, warm and inviting. The snow looks great and the enormous mountain landscapes give the film a real sense of scale. The human city down at the base of the hill is dominated by neon lights at night that bathe the snow in colorful glowing red, green and blue. The characters themselves are colorful and expressive with flowing hair and unique looks and the animators have a lot of fun with the size difference between Migo and Percy. The visuals help sell why each society might see the other one as monsters.
Reason number 2, if you’re a parent there’s a great lesson in here that shows how likes and views are not the most important thing in life. Percy begins the movie as a nature-show host who’s desperate to recover his declining popularity and when he first meets Migo, he doesn’t see him as a being with feelings, he sees him as content. Migo is the viral video that could save his career and it doesn’t matter what happens to him or his community. As the film goes, he’s got to decide whether views, attention and personal success are worth exploiting someone who trusts him. It’s a social media message that’s very relevant and also shows how treating every experience like content can prevent you from actually experiencing anything.
Reason number 1, the main message of the film is that you should question what you’re told. Asking questions is discouraged, contradicting accepted beliefs can get you banished and fear is used to keep everyone obedient. No, I’m not talking about Christianity, I’m talking about a musical animated film about a Yeti voiced by Channing Tatum…but it’s really easy to see the allegories to organized religion, fundamentalism, authoritarian government or any institution that demands obedience without evidence. And no, the movie’s message isn’t that traditions and authority figures are evil. It’s that fear should never replace curiosity and no belief should be protected from honest questions.
If you’re looking for a family friendly film with a pretty ambitious message, give this one a shot. If you’ve seen Smallfoot, what did you think of it? If you have a movie you want me to do a 5 reasons video for, email me at forcefivepodcast@gmail.com. Finally, down below you’ll find the link to order the film on Physical Media as well as links to my other socials.
Life is short. Spend it with the people, and the movies, that you love.
