Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Abominable 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 19, 2019

Exotic Eastern locations and a lovable yeti character are not quite enough to propel Abominable into the digitally animated stratosphere. The film enters a crowded marketplace and does its best to capture Pixar magic, looking to balance expansive narrative scope and intimate character heart, but Directors Jill Culton and Todd Wilderman can't quite reach those lofty heights. The picture aspires to inspire and does so to a degree, but basic genre rhythms and crudely familiar adventuring, albeit through impressively realized real-world locations, hold the movie back just enough to settle it on that second tier behind the greats.

Yi (voiced by Chloe Bennet) is a teenager with an adventurous spirit who leads the life she wants to live. She works odd jobs on the side and dreams of traveling through her native China. One night, she discovers a wounded yeti (voiced by Joe Izzo) on her building's rooftop. She quickly discovers that the creature has recently escaped from secretive captivity and yearns to get home to the Mount Everest region. She names him "Everest" and embarks on a journey with her friends Peng (voiced by Albert Tsai) and Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) to reunite the affable, lovable creature with his family and in his natural habitat. But they are pursued by Everest's former captors, Dr. Zara (voiced by Sarah Paulson) and a wealthy businessman named Mr. Burnish (voiced by Eddie Izzard), both of whom will stop at nothing to retrieve their specimen and return it to captivity.

Abominable exemplifies the essence of what today's digital animations are all about. The film is of course beautifully animated, boasting a wide array of commendable qualities that push modern boundaries for environmental realism and character complexity. The picture is well voiced, too, with each actor bringing not just verbal cadence but obvious soul into the individuals. Even Joe Izzo's work as Everest proves exemplary, finding the right cadence for each moment and in many ways saying more through the carefully practiced and very natural vocalizations -- grunts, groans -- than words could convey. The film is a top-level construction that builds only a midlevel story.

While there's a lot to like about the story -- the physical journey, the inward heart -- it's the latter where the film comes up just short. To be sure, the feel of sprawling adventure and the bonds the characters form along the way are alone well worth the price of admission, but there's ultimately little here that hasn't been seen before in other movies, movies not with greater aspiration but perhaps a bit more inspiration. Abominable doesn't quite find the perfect balance between its external drive and its inward narrative, the latter coming across as a little stale, masked but not made up for by the wonderfully realized externalities and the novel setting. It's a good movie, just one that's missing that last drive to greatness.

Abominable 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Abominable's UHD presentation, with technical specifications including upscaled 2160p resolution and HDR coloring, does not offer any substantial improvements over the Blu-ray, which is itself of near reference video quality. The HDR color expansion renders the movie looking slightly darker overall compared to the Blu-ray, but simply watching the movie on UHD in isolation and without an eye for comparison won't yield an experience that feels overly dark. In fact, the deeper tones and more reliable nuance and contrast only benefit the movie, adding depth to skies and natural greenery, intensity to clothes and manmade city elements, and depth to black levels and shadow details. Whites are improved as well, offering greater luminance and tonal purity.

The UHD's 2160p resolution offers slight improvements to clarity and sharpness. Look at Yi's mother's sweater in chapter two as she's knocking on her daughter's door. The UHD renders the fine fabric details and the various small loose strands with improved visibility and sharpness. It's hardly enough to score as a game-changer or even something all that readily noticeable, but it is evidence of the UHD's textural superiority, no matter how mild or unassuming such improvements may be. Indeed, "incremental" is the order of the day here, with the UHD in all facets -- manmade environments, natural Chinese wonders, character models -- offering just enough of a tangible improvement to notice, but not enough to really make a difference. UHD viewers are going to get the absolute best presentation of Abominable that is currently possible, but the Blu-ray is certainly not very far behind. These are mostly improvements one has to be actively seeking; those watching without a proverbial magnifying glass will be more than pleased with either version.

Abominable 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Abominable's Dolby Atmos soundtrack serves the material well, but imperfectly. The track doesn't produce the sort of low end thunder one might expect, at least generally, but the track doesn't otherwise seem particularly wanting in terms of volume or larger extension and expansion. A stampede scene in chapter 14 and some of the more intense effects to follow effort to engage the low end with authority, but at reference volume, and even raised a few decibels, there's a distinct lack of pronouncement that several of the effects demand. Music is fluid and nicely detailed, with a wide front end berth and enough surround and overhead support integration to create a rich, enveloping sound field for both light score and more intense musical beats. Indeed, action scenes are appropriately chaotic, with balanced and nuanced sound dispersal through the stage, playing in larger harmony to pull the listening audience into the mayhem. Quieter moments offer well versed atmospherics through the film's various Chinese locales, allowing dialogue to present with firm front-center placement, natural clarity, and commanding prioritization.

Abominable 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Abominable' UHD disc contains a myriad of extras, including short films, deleted scenes, fluffy featurettes, and an audio commentary. A Blu-ray copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• DreamWorks Short - Marooned (2160p/HDR, 7:24): A robot makes the best of remaining behind at an abandoned lunar base.
• Show & Tell (Original Short) (2160p/SDR, 2:50): A yeti-centric animation with several ties to the film (violin, basketball, pork buns).
• Deleted Scenes (2160p/SDR, 10:30 total runtime): Included are Spa Day, Villains at the Map, Magic Montage, and Yak Attack. Includes intros with Writer/Director Jill Culton and Co-Director Todd Wilderman. Scenes are presented in basic storyboard conceptual stages.
• Making a Myth (Movie) (2160p/SDR, 6:58): A discussion of real-world story influences, character qualities, story parameters, humor, casting and voice work, set pieces, and more.
• Animating Abominable (2160p/SDR, 5:12): Animating authentic Chinese locations and deigning characters.
• Meet the Cast (2160p/SDR, 8:22): Brief interviews with key cast. Included are Chloe Bennet as Yi, Tenzing Norgay Trainor as Jin, Albert Tsai as Peng, Tsai Chin as NaiNai, and Joe Izzo as Everest.
• Your Yeti Care Guide (2160p/SDR, 2:28): Care tips for some common household animals.
• Courage to Dream (2160p/SDR, 3:04): A look at what makes Yi a relatable role model.
• An Abominable Tour with Chloe Bennet (2160p/SDR, 4:41): The voice actress guides audiences on a journey through a few of the film's key set pieces, including geographic and cultural highlights.
• Everest's Talk Box (2160p/SDR, 4:35): Creating the imaginary vocalizations of a fictional creature and exploring Joe Izzo's voice work in the film.
• Cooking with Nai Nai (2160p/SDR, 4:03): Tsai Chin and Chef Shirley whip up some pork buns.
• How to...Abominable (2160p/SDR): A two part feature. First is How to Draw (20:36) in which Story Artist Daniel Tal demonstrates the process of drawing Everest, Yi, Jin, Peng, and Nai Nai. How to Make a Chinese Lantern (3:47) includes images and text instructing audiences on the construction process.
• You Can Speak Yeti-Ese (2160p/SDR, 3:47): Chloe Bennet offers a few tips on communicating in Yeti-Ese.
• Nai Nai Says (2160p/SDR, 1:48): The film's grandmotherly character offers a few nuggets of life advice.
• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Jill Culton, Co-Director Todd Wilderman, Producer Suzanne Buirgy, Producer/Chief Creative Officer Peilin Chou, Head of Character Animation John Hill, Production Designer Max Boas, and Visual Effects Supervisor Mark Edwards bring a varied assortment of insights into the making of the movie without the track feeling crowded, cluttered, or unmanageable.

Abominable 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Abominable is cheerful and charming, competent and connectable, but its inability to rise higher renders it somewhat flat in the aggregate. The material is a good fit for the digitally animated realm, and the adventures on the other side of the world are sure to engage viewers young and old alike with something a bit different from the usual settings. The picture is strongly animated, unflappably voiced, and assembled with care. Yet this Yeti film rings just a little hollow on the inside. Universal's UHD delivers quality video that incrementally improves over the Blu-ray, good Atmos audio, and plenty of bonuses. Recommended.