Monsieur Link

An original and heterogeneous trio goes on an expedition in search of Shangri-La, during the Victorian era: 1) Sir Lionel Frost is a British adventurer who might be considered as the perfect mix of the professor Otto Lidenbrock from Journey to the Center of the Earth (Jules Vernes, 1864) and Indiana Jones (Steven Spielberg, 1981-2008), 2) Adelina Fortnight is a wonderful widow with character and 3) Mr. Link, a caveman as ingenuous as touching, a kind of missing link between us and our ancestors, is desperately looking for a soul mate.

The drawings are remarkably successful and the story is riddled with madcap plot twists. Given the kinship with the exquisite Kubo et l'Armure magique (2016) and the excellent Coraline (2009), I probably hoped for better. Nevertheless, this zany story of adventurers addressing such important topics as friendship, trust or recognition, is overall a success that I really appreciated. I was obviously not the only one to laugh, in the movie theater.

Missing Link is plagued by over-simplified caricatures of protagonists and even worse antagonists. The lack of depth reaches into its comedy too, with a joke repertoire that seems to restate itself over and over again. The first act introduced some interesting characters and had some funny moments, but by the end I was fairly disappointed because there was no growth from there. The impressive stop-motion animation was brilliant, and saved this film.

The first association which came to my mind when I started watching this film was that it reminded me of a similar animated story Smallfoot (2018). They both involve going on adventures and dealing with such humanlike mythical creatures as Yeti. Besides, the atmosphere of both films is quite alike.

General impression of the film is very pleasant, the plot is easy-going and undemanding, although every now and then the viewer comes across unexpected plot twists along with the adventurous spirit of the three main characters - the ambitious investigator Sir Frost, his passionate ex-girlfriend Adelina and the adorable Sasquatch.

To some extent, I found the film a bit predictable with many clichees, but nevertheless it kept my interest till the end. It is worth seeing if you want something chilling and relaxing.

The premise, animation and storyline were the strongest points of the film. Unfortunately, the titular creature is the weakest link (pun intended) as his ramblings and antics got a bit tiresome rather than funny. Considering that he is the star of the show, this dragged down the experience for me, though it is not a bad film overall.

The first thing that has to be said when talking about 'Missing Link' is that it looks absolutely incredible. With each film, Laika's stop motion animation has improved and this is no exception. While the world might not be as visually interesting as some of their previous creations, what's there looks phenomenal and the characters are animated even better. The movements and facial expressions are so fluid, to the point where it genuinely looks computer generated. The care and craft it must have taken to create this is extraordinary. Where Laika's latest is not up to par, however, is in its narrative and characters. The characters themselves are fun and have entertaining interactions, but nobody really has any arcs or development, and they're all pretty much bottled down to having one trait. Sure, Lionel Frost changes by the end of the narrative, but it feels completely forced, unrealistic and unearned, which is something that can't be said about any of the protagonists in Laika's previous works. The actual story itself is very simple and quite generic, but luckily the globe-trotting adventure includes several locations and scenarios for the characters to be in, which are all entertaining. The relationship between Frost and Mr. Link leads to some entertaining interactions, and the situations they find themselves in are all fairly humorous, too. So, while it's not all that original and there aren't really any arcs, it is entertaining throughout. Surprisingly, the action sequences are well done and actually quite thrilling, while still retaining the fun 'adventure feel'. It's also, like the rest of Laika's works, not afraid of pulling its punches and is more mature than the average animated feature. Overall, it's arguably the worst film that Laika has produced thus far, but it is still very entertaining and has great animation. 7/10