Missing Link (2019)
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Missing Link Movie Review
Missing Link is a 2019 animated adventure film directed by Chris Butler and starring Hugh Jackman. It’s Laika’s fifth film and their second best overall.
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“Your utopia sucks!“
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It follows an English explorer who encounters a Sasquatch-type creature and must escort him to his Yeti cousins in the Himalayas. This movie is so old-fashioned that it really surprised me pleasantly. And I am talking about the real old-fashioned adventure entertainment from the nineteenth century such as Jules Verne tales and such.
Thus it appealed to me strongly as I love those 19th century adventure tales and the film’s inclusion of Darwinian evolution and scientific circles in the vein of the Royal Society only further added to its historical authenticity. It happens in 1886 and it feels like it in its bone.
This isn’t a movie for everyone of course, but to me that’s very positive. Laika should continue making these quality mature tales for both children and adults, but I fear for their longevity as this movie was a huge box-office bomb. And yes, part of that blame should be directed toward its uneven, indecisive tone.
The film is actually rather sophisticated, but still sweet-natured and with a very kid-friendly humor that this particular mix felt uneasy more than a couple of times. But I did like both of those aspects with the humor working for me as it was pleasantly retro and of course the themes are great. It touches so well upon the mindset of the century – the Yetis represent one extreme and the villain circle another extreme.
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The whole Sir Lionel Frost protagonist worked for me as his change of heart was much more believable than usual for these animated flicks as he was never too cold or goal-driven. And the message here is perfect as it teaches us that you should not strive to be in a group you are not a part of in any way. That kind of validation is wrong and unnecessary. Jackman did a great voice work as did everyone else here.
I found the villains a bit lacking. Lord Piggot-Dunceby is a fine central villain, but Stenk is overly one-note and that entire trip of his where he followed the main crew was hugely repetitive. But I did like Adelina as she was a strong, but not too on-the-nose female character.
As for Mr. Link AKA Susan, I loved him despite at first finding him a bit odd in voice and behavior. I loved that his name ended up being female, his design is so charming and the character’s innocence made him hugely endearing. His friendship with Lionel is the heart of the film as is was his heartbreaking search for others of his kind.
Missing Link is gorgeously animated per usual for the studio. This is probably their best effort when it comes to interior design and imagery alone as the settings here are all beautifully brought to life owing to some truly painstaking detail at display. The use of lighting was modern too, and the entire film is very polished while still being traditional in character designs.
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The movie is leisurely paced for sure, but overall I loved its approach of less is more, and the entire adventurous aspect to it made it truly engaging and pleasing. The dialogue’s great too, the direction is strong by Chris Butler and I found it Laika’s second best movie after of course ‘Coraline’.
Thanks to expectedly beautiful animation with many memorable places, an undeniable adventurous spirit to it and a great message, Missing Link is a long-awaited return to form for Laika across the board. It’s leisurely paced and uneven in tone, but the characterization is fantastic, the themes are well explored and its heart is always in the right place. It’s a delightfully old-fashioned adventure flick that really works.
