Le chaînon manquant

I watched this so many times on BetaMax (yup I'm old-er) that the video store stopped charging us to rent it! This isn't great animation compared to now but hey, for 1980 it was awesome. I never laughed so hard over an animated adult movie. The dragon scene (Bill Murray) is hysterical - tears pouring down your face hysterical! The best part? I just found it on DVD from a place that specializes in hard to find movies, TV shows, etc. Search for Times Forgotten DVDs and you should find it. I haven't received my copy yet so not sure of quality, but I cannot wait for it to arrive. Movie night with about 10 of my friends who have heard me talk about it but never seen it. Awesome soundtrack artists too!

'The Missing Link' - sometimes known as 'B.C. Rock' and 'Le Chaînon Manquant' - this is a daringly different sort of animated comedy no matter the title, focusing on the world's very first homo sapien, who eventually teaches his people how to walk, talk and make fire after many adventures with dinosaur friends. The humour varies in effectiveness with lame moments as the prehistoric humans repeatedly fail to copulate and attempt to walk in the strangest possible ways. There is a lot of ingenuity to the film too though with the protagonist inadvertently inventing the wheel and accidentally inventing the skipping rope. There are also fun references to movies such as '2001: A Space Odyssey' and stories such as 'Gulliver's Travels'. Some of the prehistoric beasts that appear in the film are wonderfully imaginative too, such as a species of feminine felines with long red tails and one-legged creatures that hop back and forth. And on the subject of beasts, the protagonist also manages to teach a confused dragon how to breathe fire! The characters here are not much to write home about, and bits and pieces of the film feel terribly juvenile, but the movie's tenacity to twist conventional theories of evolution, even bringing religion into the equation at one point (!) is no small feat, plus the film is genuinely touching at times with the protagonist's attempts to locate others of his own species.

Now what we have here is a classic!

Sure it's not no fancy animation, but remember, it came out in the 80's.

I have to say though, the edited version (the original was not as funny) sure was ahead of its time!

I can't say I've seen any one film over 20x! Mainly because I brag about it to friends that haven't seen it and watch it again with them.

I've always wanted a DVD release but to no avail. However if you have not seen this, Google B.C. Rock (1980) and you will find it on YouTube.

If you want to see a clip of what you're missing, Google 'BC Rock - Red Dragon' on YouTube for a 2+ min clip of one of my favorite clips, and you will see that this humor was indeed ahead of it's time!

This one is on my top 10 list and a must see!

A hilarious 10/10 from me!

There is something charming about Picha's, 'The Missing Link' and perhaps it lies in it's quaint production values. The sound is patchy, the animation uneven and performances somewhat forgettable but somehow it lingers like a guilty pleasure that draws snickers rather than belly laughs. There are some genuinely funny moments and some fabulous characters such as the fast talking, wise-guy, Pterodactyl and a fire breathing Dragon voiced by Bill Murray that is certain to get a laugh. The comedy largely depends on cartoon violence and sexual suggestion and is not at all confronting by today's standards and somehow seems naive and cute. Whilst 'The Missing Link' it is not Disney or even Hanna-Barbera, it reminds us of how important it is to admire these largely forgotten films that somehow get made through dedication and love and slip through the cracks in defiance of all that is mainstream.

F. Drebin

Definitely one of the best adult animated films ever made. I just don't understand why it is not available to buy on DVD OR VHS. We used to rent this film quite often back in the late 80's, but I have never seen it available for purchase ANYWHERE. Why is this? I found Ralph Bakshi's "Wizards" on VHS after years of searching. I have "Heavy Metal" on DVD. Why won't they make this available to us???????? This film is hilariously funny. The animation is awesome, and the story line is just too good! Complete senseless fun, and I would LOVE to show it to my kids now that they're grown. It sure would be nice to have even a limited re-release of this film so a whole new generation would be able to enjoy it.