Missing Link

The Oregon-based animation studio, Laika, has built a reputation over the years for making outside the box-thinking stop motion animation films.  Their past efforts like Coraline or ParaNorman were spooky kid adventures that packed some genuine thrills, while their last film, Kubo and the Two Strings, was an epic adventure that was just as exciting for adults, if not more so, than it was for kids.  Anyone expecting this kind of filmmaking in their latest effort, Missing Link, might be disappointed.  This is a laid back, sweet-natured and gentle buddy comedy.  It has a lot of heart, some big laughs, and the trademark art and style that Laika always brings to their productions.  It simply doesn't stand out quite as much as their past offerings.

Writer-director Chris Butler (the previously mentioned ParaNorman) seems to be taking inspiration from Britain's Aardman Studio (Wallace & Gromit), as he has brought a very dry and subtle wit here.  There is little to no over the top gags here.  Rather, the humor comes from the witty back-and-forth banter the two main heroes share throughout the adventure.  Our lead hero is Sir Lionel Frost (voice by Hugh Jackman), a Victorian England adventurer who has made it his mission to track down the fabled creatures of the world.  As the film opens, he succeeds in uncovering the Loch Ness Monster, but his camera is destroyed in the process, so he has no evidence, and his assistant walks out on him after the Monster tries to eat him, and Lionel had to save him.  ("Ah!  It's a carnivore!", Lionel says astutely when the creature initially chomps down on his friend.) His goal is to be accepted into the crusty old members-only explorer's club, who frequently ridicule Lionel's missions.  But when he receives a letter leading him to the Pacific Northwest where there appears to be evidence of the elusive Sasquatch, Lionel thinks he's finally found his way into the club.

Turns out the letter was written by the Sasquatch itself.  Yes, the beast can read and write, and knows of Lionel's adventures from newspaper articles.  He wanted Lionel to find him so that he could possibly help him find others of his kind, which are believed to exist in the Himalayas, in the fabled mountain kingdom of Shangri-La.  The Sasquatch can also talk, and has been given a somewhat sweetly naive and big-hearted personality by Zach Galifianakis, who not only provides the voice of the monster, but many of the film's biggest laughs with his innocently deadpan humor and line delivery.  Knowing that the discovery of not just one, but an entire society of fabled creatures, could launch him into the fame he desires, Lionel agrees to lead the Sasquatch to his destination.  Lionel names his new companion "Mr. Link", as he is the missing link between man and beast, but the creature honestly prefers to be called "Susan".

They are eventually joined by another companion, the feisty Adelina Fortnight (Zoe Saldana), who is the widow of another adventurer who once possessed a map to Shangri-La.  Adelina and Lionel used to be a couple once long ago, until their differing views on adventure and fame tore them apart.  Also on their trail is the villainous Stenk (Timothy Olyphant), a slimy hit man who has been hired by someone at the explorer's club to make sure that Lionel does not succeed.  The globe-trotting aspect of the story is easily the best aspect of the film, as it allows the artists at Laika the chance to create some truly stunning model sets representing the vast corners of the world.  As with all of their films, make sure you sit through the end credits so you can watch some behind the scenes footage on how some of the more complex scenes were accomplished using just stop motion models and puppets, along with some added CG.  The movie is a wonder to watch, and the effort of the various artists and designers comes through in every frame.

However, at least this time around, the story is not what we have come to expect from the studio.  Usually, they have been able to craft an equally grand plot to go along with the visuals, but Missing Link is not really interested in creating an adventure story.  Oh, there are some action sequences, such as a bar fight, or a particularly impressive escape from a ship in the middle of a raging storm.  But, this movie is not really built around its plot, and rather on the dialogue and relationship between the three main adventurers.  This gives the film an overly calm and kind of talky vibe that may cause the littlest members of the audience to fidget in their seats.  The movie is not really all that long, and it flows well enough, but the plot and the adventure itself never really grabs our attention.  Also unlike past Laika productions, the story never really tugs at our hearts or draws out any emotion.  We like these characters, and there are quite a few genuine laughs, but they never really get to develop and grow like we want them to.

Were this just your average CG animated kids film, Missing Link might have seemed kind of standard.  But, because of the beautiful and detailed stop motion work, as well as the attention to detail in the sets and the tiny costumes, we are enraptured by the experience of watching it.  I don't want you to get the wrong idea and think I was disappointed with the film, as it is very funny and sweet.  I just have a certain amount of expectations when it comes to Laika.  This is a fine film, it just does not equal their past successes. 

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