Review: Missing Link

I’ve always loved Stop-Motion animation. As a child, Wallace and Gromit was one of my favourite things to watch. I just found it so enthralling, so wonderfully captivating. So when I heard that Studio Laika, the team behind such classics as Kubo and the Two Strings, was releasing a film this year, I just knew I had to see it. So I took myself down to the cinema and booked my ticket for it. The question is, was Missing Link as good as Laika’s other efforts? Or is it just a dud?

It’s a mixture of both, really. Missing Link was an enjoyable time for me, if extremely flawed and at times simply boring. But anyway, we’ll delve into the plot and discuss the flaws later.

Missing Link is all about a Sasquatch who is searching for his family. It’s an age-old tale of trying to find out where you belong and who you belong to. Along the way he enlists the help of adventurer, Sir Lionel Frost. Together, they will travel all over the world, trying to find out where Link belongs and becoming closer along the way. However, Sir Lionel also has an ulterior motive. He wishes to be accepted by the adventurers guild, and by helping Link he thinks he could find legendary creatures and become a member of the much coveted club. It’s a pretty common plot of animated films, but it doesn’t make it any less effective.

The cast is pretty good, too. Sir Lionel Frost is played wonderfully by Hugh Jackman, who I didn’t actually realise WAS Hugh Jackman until the credits rolled. Zach Galifianakis plays the role of Link, and it’s almost like he was born to voice a Sasquatch. The chemistry they have together is wonderful, and easily the highlight of the film. Zoe Saldana is also excellent as Adelina Fortnight. However, the best character in the film is easily the villain, Lord Pigott-Dunceby. But then again, I suppose that’s what happens when you get Stephen Bloody Fry to play your villain.

However, the pacing of the film seems far too fast. It feels like you could have easily added twenty minutes onto the runtime and made everything a bit smoother and less rough around the edges. The humour is also pretty inconsistent, with the film flitting often between high-brow jokes and low-brow, crude jokes.

Missing Link is a fun, if deeply flawed, time for the whole family. Your kids will absolutely love seeing it and it teaches some excellent life lessons for them.