'Abominable' Trailer: Dreamworks' New Yeti Movie Actually Looks Pretty Magical

Hollywood works in cycles, which means there is indeed a third animated yeti movie coming to theaters in the span of a year. But Dreamworks' Abominable looks like it deserves much, much more than to be fodder for a meme.

On the heels of Warner Animation's Smallfoot and Laika's Missing Link comes Abominable, an animated film about a girl in modern-day Shanghai who accidentally stumbles upon a yeti separated from its homeland. Hijinks ensue and money gets made, right? Not so fast — Abominable promises to be more than a hackneyed kid's film aiming at the lowest common denominator. A culturally rich approach coupled with soaring, achingly gorgeous animation that recalls the best of Dreamworks' acclaimed How to Train Your Dragon series makes Abominable look anything but. Watch the Abominable trailer below.

"Oh good, another yeti movie," was my first thought when I saw the title for Abominable. But mere seconds into this trailer, and I realize how wrong I was. The Abominable trailer follows a girl named Yi (Chloe Bennet), an aspiring violinist who discovers an adorable yeti and goes on a quest to take him back to his home in the Himalayas. She's aided by her two friends, but they soon find themselves chased by a wealthy animal collector (Eddie Izzard) and a scheming zoologist assistant (Sarah Paulson) who wish to capture a yeti for themselves.

Part "girl and her monster" story, part sweeping adventure film, Abominable looks absolutely gorgeous, with several sequences in which the yeti shows off his fantastic magic skills sending chills down my spine. Dreamworks is clearly leaning into the stunning animation techniques they've perfected in the How to Train Your Dragon series, and taking narrative lessons from that Oscar-nominated franchise as well — focusing on heart over hilarious hijinks. Couple that with a lovely violin version of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" that plays over the trailer, and you've won me over.

Jill Culton (Open Season, Monsters, Inc., Toy Story 2) writes and directs Abominable, which is co-directed by Todd Wilderman (Trolls, The Croods) and produced by Suzanne Buirgy (Kung Fu Panda 2, Home) and Peilin Chou of the China-based Pearl Studio

Here is the synopsis for Abominable:

DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio's co-production Abominable takes audiences on an epic 2,000-mile adventure from the streets of Shanghai to the breathtaking Himalayan snowscapes. When teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, she and her mischievous friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him "Everest" and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. But the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish (Eddie Izzard), a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) to help Everest get home.

Abominable will hit theaters on September 27, 2019.