The animation studio Laika doesn’t produce features very often, but that’s understandable when you consider they do everything with stop motion animation. That takes a while. And their last feature, Kubo and the Two Strings, was one of my top picks for 2016.
Well, they have a new one out now called Missing Link.
Intrepid explorer Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) has made it his mission in life to find legendary beasts and bring back proof in order to join an intrepid adventurers club, but he never quite makes it and the blowhard in charge, Lord Piggot-Dunceby (Stephen Fry), doesn’t like the idea of progress or evolution or anything that might prove he was descended from anything other than great men or that his club should let in any undesirables (which include women from the looks of things). As such, he doesn’t want Frost to come back with proof from his latest expedition to America where he may find a Sasquatch. But find a Sasquatch Frost does in the form of a big, clumsy, lonely fellow Frost dubs “Mr. Link” (Zach Galifianakis). Mr. Link says he’s the last of his kind, but he heard word of the Yeti, and with Frost’s help, he can get there. The pair will need some more help from an old flame of Frost’s, Adelina Fortnight (Zoe Saldana), but can they get Link to the Yeti’s lands before someone stops them?
So, this was fun. A kid sitting next to me couldn’t stop laughing, and there’s a lot of clever word play and slapstick throughout the entire movie. I know I laughed aloud myself a couple times though unlike Kubo, this one doesn’t have a particularly deep message. There is a message here, but it’s not on the level of Kubo‘s. Add in as well the outright beauty of the animation, and you’ve got one hell of a good family film. This is all models and stop motion, and yet I saw hair pushed around by wind, steam coming from tea, and crowd scenes of unique characters on crowded streets. Good for kids and a blast for animation buffs, I’d give this one a big thumbs up. 9 out of 10 robberies gone wrong.
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