MISSING LINK – Review

MISSING LINK is an enjoyable effort from the folks at Laika studios with irresistible stop-motion look, an outstanding voice cast and the signature cheekily innocent wit that have become their hallmarks. It may not be Laika’s best, but it’s still highly recommended.

MISSING LINK opens with a hilarious sequence where our fearless explorer hero Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) fails to prove the existence of the Loch Ness monster due to a broken camera. He soon receives a mysterious telegram which sends him to the Pacific Northwest in search of the legendary “missing link” (aka Bigfoot aka Sasquatch) that connects modern man to the apes. Frost hopes that this discovery means he’ll earn membership in the Optimates Club, an exclusive society reserved for the best adventurers and explorers. Turns out the telegram is from Mr. Link himself (Zack Galifinakis) and what he really wants is for Sir Frost to assist him on a journey to find his long-lost relatives he’s convinced reside in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Mr. Link (who prefers to be called Susan) is 8 feet tall, 630 lbs, and covered in fur but he is funny, sweet, making him the world’s most lovable legend. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight (Zoe Saldana), our brave trio of explorers encounter more than their fair share of peril as they travel to the far reaches of the world to help their furry friend, but Optimates anti-evolution chief Lord Piggot-Dunceb (Stephen Fry) has hired hit man Stank (Timothy Olyphant) to stop them.

Laika Studio does their best to keep the magic of stop motion animation alive, and here they have once again fabricated an imaginative and colorful world, though one less spooky or dream-like than in their previous films BOXTROLLS and KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS.  It also lacks the depth of those earlier films. This is the first film from the studio that does not have a child character at the center of it. Instead, it has a comic actor – that man-child Zack Galifinakis, who does have some funny lines, especially the charmingly literal way he responds to Sir Frost’s figures of speech. Jackman’s portrayal of Sir Lionel Frost is a humorous enough blend of Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones and he and Galifinakis have playful chemistry, but the simple plot mechanics and often tired jokes could have benefited from some rewriting. Still, MISING LINK is silly, colorful, and a fun enough way to pass 95 minutes.

3 1/2 of 5 Stars