Bigfoot Family movie review 2021

MOVIE TITLE: Bigfoot Family

Now available on Netflix!

RATING: PG or TV-Y7 (Europe)

LENGTH: 1 hour 29 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

One of my YouTube channel subscribers, Katlego Assegaai, has been wanting me to review this movie, so I’m excited to finally be able to! Yay! Bigfoot Family is a sequel to the Belgium-French children’s animation from 2017 called The Son of Bigfoot

I haven’t seen the first one in the franchise, but I’ve heard that this new addition doesn’t match the content, nor the heart of the first one. While the animation itself is really good, it’s a ridiculously woke movie that screams environmentalism with an inaccurate portrayal of the oil industry that is turning audiences off. The film is written by Bob Barlen and Cal Brunker, and directed by Ben Stassen and Jeremie Degruson.

THINGS I LIKED:

The colorful animation is super detailed and completely adorable.
The beautiful opening features Aurora Borealis, something I’ve been wanting to see forever! It’s on my Bucket List!
Gorgeous nature and landscapes. You get to go to Alaska and Canada.
I thought it was pretty funny that they showed the border crossing guard in Canada as very friendly, yet the one at the Alaska border representing the American side was suspicious and kind of mean.
Energetic musical soundtrack with some original songs
Lots of humor with visual gags and spoken lines
The merchandising ideas to promote Big Foot products were pretty funny and clever.
The animated humans look like real humans I’ve actually seen before in real life.
Even young kids will be able to relate to much of the technology used in the movie, such as cell phones, social media, and drones.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

You get to learn how Bigfoot came to be…supposedly. What’s funny is that it absolutely doesn’t explain how his son has his magical powers and traits. The timing doesn’t make any sense at all. The son says he inherited his Bigfoot traits and powers from his father, but his father was turned into Bigfoot AFTER the son was born. Of course, most kids won’t notice or even care about that gigantic plot hole.
The movie really hits it hard on environmentalism so that kids will think oil is the worst thing ever. Before they decide to chain themselves to an oil refinery fence to protest, discuss all of the good things that oil provides in their lives. You might also point out that to get to Alaska to save the environment, some of the characters in the movie drive there in a gas-guzzling conversion van, while another flies in an airplane.
I’m all for saving the earth, but there are soooo many inaccuracies about what happens in order to drill for oil on American land. For example, bombs aren’t dropped into big holes for fracking, and oil rivers don’t flow around the oil site. Children are going to definitely get wrong information from this leftist propaganda.
The animation style changes when some of the characters are taking a road trip like you’ve seen on travel map sequences in movies many times before, but it wasn’t necessary and kind of looked out of place.
There are scenes and talk of a ghost town, but nothing comes of it.
Being able to talk to animals is such an overdone trope in animated films. Of course, I wish I had that magical power!
Adam, the son of Bigfoot sounded like a girl, so I wasn’t surprised to learn that he’s voiced by a woman, Jules Medcraft.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

No profanity. Yay!
Some cartoon violence.
A wolf tries to eat a rabbit.
Bad guys try to shoot innocent people.
Kidnapping
Dishonesty

THEMES:

Environmentalism
Family
Fame
Expectations
Destiny
Greed
The power of social media
“Whoever you are, wherever you are, you CAN make a difference.” – Bigfoot (Alexis Victor)

FUNNY LINES:

“Wait, Bigfoot shoots fireballs? This game’s lotic strains credulity, to say the least!” – Trapper the raccoon (Sebastien Desjours)
“I want to do something meaningful with my life.” – Bigfoot “I can’t take 10% of meaningful.” – slimy agent
“So far, there’s only two of us.” – lady protester “But we’re highly motivated!” – guy protester
“Now, put on some sandals, throw on a poncho, and we’ll get you some kombucha and goji berry granola.” – guy protester

INTERESTING LINES:

“I just want to find a way to make the world a better place.” – Bigfoot (Alexis Victor)
“You’re only hot until you’re not.” – Trapper (Sebastien Desjours)
“What’s the point of fame if I can’t make the world a better place.” – Bigfoot (Alexis Victor)

Movie Review Mom GRADE: C