‘Missing Link’ Review: It’s Perfectly LAIKA

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for stop motion animation. Good stop motion constantly amazes me, and will often leave me speechless, wondering how in the world were the artists able to create these breathtaking scenes frame by frame, millisecond by millisecond. No one does it better than Laika Studios. From Coraline to ParaNorman to Kubo and the Two Strings, they are arguably the best in the business. Still, despite my love for the studio I feel like they continually fly under the radar with general animation audiences. I’m hoping that all changes with their latest animated film, Missing Link, which also happens to be their most accessible film to date. It’s funny, heartwarming, and brilliantly beautiful. In other words, it’s perfectly Laika.

Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) has spent his entire life hunting mythical monsters in the hopes of gaining acceptance into an exclusive explorer’s club whose members mock him for hunting legends rather than real beasts. His latest adventure has him searching for the legendary sasquatch. Much to his delight, he actually discovers the legendary creature and cannot wait to show proof to the explorers back home, but he soon learns that the beast is no beast at all and is actually rather intelligent. With Sir Frost’s help, the newly named Mr. Link (Zach Galifianakis) embarks on a journey to find the rest of his kind hidden in the mythical city of Shangri-La.

First of all, Missing Link is an absolutely gorgeous film to watch. Laika has always had wonderful animation and Missing Link continues to improve and build upon the techniques used in their previous films. The fact that the studio built 110 sets with 65 unique locations for the film shows just how much they’ve grown since 2016’s Kubo, and it definitely shows. The animation is simply gorgeous and ridiculously smooth. The attention to detail in every frame is second to none. It’s easy to get immersed in the film and even forget that what you’re watching is stop motion.

The story itself is also fantastic with plenty of humor for both kids and adults alike. Zach Galifianakis is hilarious as Mr. Link and perfectly captures the warmth and innocence of a creature who is just looking for a home. Him and Hugh Jackman have wonderful chemistry together, and while the main plot points are predictable, they don’t make the journey any less enjoyable.

Missing Link is another brilliant addition for Laika, and continues the studio’s long streak of excellent films. It’s a fun film for everyone and a masterclass in stop motion animation. You won’t want to miss it.