Friday, October 5, 2018

2018 Annual Recap Post

I'M BAAAACK!!!

Here are the yeti highlights of the last year. Enjoy!




MOVIES:

Incontestably, Smallfoot was the biggest yeti event of the year.  Since I started this blog, a major animated kids film with yetis was always my benchmark for yeti attaining the pinnacle in popular culture. And, folks, we made it. Here we are.

(Um, I think it might all be downhill from here.)






There's also a game, and probably a gazillion other things.



THEME PARKS:

Did you know Pixar's Abominable Snowman from Monsters Inc. got a special frozen treat stand at Disney Land?  That was pretty cool.



It became a popular subject of selfies. Many pics of photographers' hands holding yellow ice cream cones showed up on social media.



TELEVISION:

That Ol' Chestnut - still the classic stand-by character. Kids cartoons haven't stopped bringing in yetis as guest stars. I wonder if Smallfoot will stop all of that.

Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed!, episode 47, (19 July 2018): "Crouching Dennis, Hidden Yeti"


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Kuu Kuu Harajuku, Season 1, episode 20: "Yeti in the House"


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Yetis from True and the Rainbow Kingdom




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Though not from the last year, the following Kids Cartoons are from my Wish List! Very happy to finally have found them.
Potatoes & Dragons, episode: "Ready Yeti"
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Captain Flamingo, episode: "A Boy & His Yeti"






BOOKS:

Book game is still strong...

My Dad is Amazing! - picture book by Moyle sisters
(yes, you know I will own this; MINE.)

Yeti, Set, Go! - picture book for Smallfoot

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yeti! - UK chapter book

There's a Yeti in the Playground! - UK chapter book
Father Christmas’s Fake Beard by Terry Pratchett
features short story, "The Abominable Snow-Baby"
And it's not a real book (yet), but Pottermore drew up a cover for it,
fulfilling an item on my Wish List



GAMES:

Yowza! A lot of tabletop games with yetis came out this last year...

Tabletop Game: Klondike Rush
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Tabletop Game: Yeti, Set, Go!

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Tabletop Game: Dwar7s Winter

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Tabletop Game: Summit: Yeti Expansion
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Tabletop Game: Yeti or Not!
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Video game cameos were a little sparse. The yeti in God of War 4 didn't pan out, so that was disappointing.

Biggest news probably: Willump from League of Legends was reskinned as a multi-armed dude.
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Video Game: Hex Shards of Fate

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Video Game: Yeti Simulator



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Video Game: Board Kings
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Video Game:  King of the Hat
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Video Game: Miitopia



TOYS:

The figures and designer toys were ridiculous this year. I thought last year was stellar, but these are like next level ...
Love this Funko Yeti with Frozen Treat in Patty Pose
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And OMG: They finally made a Playmobil Yeti (I WANTS ItTtTt)




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Nice action figure
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Imaginext Yeti Snowboarder

And check it out : Disguise!!!
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Squishy Cake Pop Cuties - Confetti Yeti






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Crate Creatures: Blizz

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Animated Musical Singing and Rocking Yeti

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Cryptkin Yeti


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Death Goliathan Snowman Edition (designer toy)
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Lex Yeti by DexDexignLab
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Roblox Yeti
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Another one by Yetis & Friends



GIFTS:


Here are a couple items that may be stuffing your stockings this holiday season:

Buy Mei from Overwatch's Slippers for real
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Inflatable sled



ENDORSEMENTS:

And yetis in advertising...

"My Yeti" ice cream snacks with AR and yeti cartoons

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Smart home automation app
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Yellow yeti in Microsoft Paint 3D commercial

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Kohl's stores used this big plush yeti for people to take pictures with




DISGUISES:

Behold the HEROES of October 31, 2018:











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This disguise became available, I think:
Pajamas
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And here are a few mascots for good measure:

Yeti on Bicycle


Yeti in Lederhosen!!!



ART:

I'm sure there were a lot, but here's a small selection of artistic works that caught my eye this year...

Samurai Vs. Yeti
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Sculpture from Altitude Lounge at Burning Man

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Source
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Source


BONGS:



OOPS I MISSED THIS:

I missed this Henriyeti web cartoon series from Sesame Studios (Makers of Sesame Street). And it's like the greatest thing ever created.





Never realized there were yeti in "Secrets of the Gnomes":




Missed this illustration from a 1990s Hominids book:


Besides Woo, there was also this yeti that fought Ultraman:



And I don't think I ever featured this comic (not sure where it's from):




NOT YETI:

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention "Gritty", the controversial new mascot to the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team:
Personally, I kinda dig him.
I wanna give a shout-out to the Tuunbaq from The Terror tv show:

(I pictured it more yeti-ish when I read the book tho')
And the big rampaging white gorilla from Rampage was, you know, a thing that happened:


 
Figure's pretty cool, I admit





YETI CRAB:

It's great seeing the yeti crab show up in more things...

Picture book from Amazon


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Japanese picture book versions of Octonauts stories
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Featured last year, but: Yeti Crab in animated "Deep" film




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Part of the "Life at the Edges" exhibit in Dublin's Science Gallery (source)
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And finally, some art with kiwa hirsuta as muse:
Source

Source




THE FUTURE:

Smallfoot being big might mean less yetis in popular culture. With so much concentrated abominability in the zeitgeist, there won't be a gap to fill. There might be a feeling of "been there, done that."

Time will tell.

Laika's next film is "Missing Link" coming in April 2019, and I can't wait!


And Google's supposed to have a gaming console coming out, code-named "Yeti" - not sure if that means they'll use yeti depictions or not. Probably not.




See You Next Year!

11 comments:

Beth Lemon said...

This made my day! Thanks so much. Can't wait to see Smallfoot.

Anonymous said...

I always feel happy when I find new posts in this awesome blog :)
See you next year, Jonny

Henry said...

Thanks, Jonny!

Loren Coleman said...

So early I almost missed it. All items are great, but I loved the nice list of action figures I have to catch up obtaining.

Had a major Twitter/FB exchange with folks about Wampas/Horned Yetis, and it apparently a new version of the Wampa action figure appeared near 2018's end.

Anonymous said...

I love yetis so much. I got three yeti stuffs this year- Reddy the Yeti, baby Yeti, and pocket yeti. Yetis are so cute and fun and I love them so much. Woo hoo for the yeti!!!

tallulah jane said...

it was a good year for Yeti's! love your post!

Henry said...

Thanks all!

Gavin said...

Henry, I love your blog, it is so informative and I do hope you return in 2019, especially because there is a new Yeti animation coming to cinemas soon, 'Abominable'. Also, the earliest reference to a Yeti in cinema doesn't get a mention on your site, Georges Méliès: The Conquest of the Pole (1912). Surely this can't be neglected? Please post again soon.

Henry said...

Thanks for the kind words, Gavin! Stay tuned - I'll have my Annual Post on October 5th. And I didn't neglect the Méliès Yeti. See this post from 2011!

Gavin said...

Méliès's 'le géant des neiges’ is indeed there, I missed it and thank you for pointing this out to me. Will you be including the Tuunbaq beast from Dan Simmons 2007 novel, 'The Terror', which was turned into a TV series earlier this year? I eagerly await October 5.

Henry said...

Hi Gavin - check out the above post - Tuunbaq is given an honorable mention! :)