Men, women, and creatures of myth embark on globe-trotting adventures in the cleverly crafted and intermittently captivating “Missing Link.”
While visually innovative, some narrative elements don’t always mesh seamlessly. The film presents a visually rich blend of stop-motion animation, enhanced with computer-generated effects and 3D printing techniques—pay close attention to the characters’ smooth yet expressive faces. However, these elements serve a plot that can feel overly intellectualized, emotionally detached, and sprinkled with humor that doesn’t always hit the mark. Moreover, there’s a recurring undercurrent of threatened violence that can darken the mood.
Audiences had previously seen the more traditionally computer-animated “Smallfoot,” a buddy comedy featuring a Himalayan yeti and a publicity-hungry TV show host. That film offered pure entertainment, inverting folklore by portraying humans as mythical creatures in the yetis’ imaginations. “Missing Link” tells a more intricate tale, set in the Victorian era and realized in the artisanal look of stop-motion animation. The film comes from the storytellers at Laika Entertainment, the studio that made the excellent “Kubo and the Two Strings,” “The Boxtrolls,” and “Coraline.”
Chris Butler wrote and directed “Missing Link,” and also designed the characters. His first film as writer/co-director was Laika’s “ParaNorman,” which centered on a boy who felt like an outcast and could see ghosts. Here, he creates another set of outcasts – an explorer whose views are rejected by the adventurers’ club he longs to join, and a lonely, last-of-his-breed sasquatch who wishes to leave the Pacific Northwest to reunite with his cousins in the Himalayas.
The central question is whether Butler’s fable, reminiscent of films such as “Around the World in 80 Days” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” successfully weaves its wit, intellect, and emotions into a consistently engaging narrative. The answer is, at times, yes, though always with impressive skill. Yet, the story occasionally falters, losing its emotional energy amidst the intricacies of fight scenes or vast Himalayan vistas. Only Zach Galifianakis, voicing the sasquatch character Mr. Link, maintains his naive heart firmly at the forefront. Other characters often find themselves explaining the plot rather than living it.
In a captivating prologue, Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman), a smug yet dashing British explorer, sips tea in a canoe as the Loch Ness monster looms above before giving him and his manservant an exciting ride. However, the traditional men in London’s Optimates Club are skeptical of Sir Lionel’s tales of Nessies, sasquatches, or yetis. Nor do they accept evolution. He vows to prove them all wrong, particularly Lord Piggot-Dunceby (Stephen Fry), the group’s leader.
A letter arrives suggesting that Sir Lionel might find the last surviving sasquatch/Bigfoot in Washington state. The two meet in the piney woods, where Sir Lionel is surprised to find that Mr. Link, as he names him, can read and speaks English. Mr. Link, who would much rather be called “Susan,” after a woman prospector who had once smiled at him, implores the explorer to take him to the Himalayas, where he can join his likely yeti cousins. “I’m lonely,” he says.
Moved by a mix of empathy and ambition, Sir Lionel agrees. This decision launches the pair on a journey, first to see Adelina Fortnight (Zoe Saldana), the strong-willed widow of a rival explorer who possesses a map they need. She joins them as they travel back to London via a voyage that features a stunning storm and a violent confrontation with a hitman (Timothy Olyphant) sent by Lord Piggot-Dunceby. Still pursued by the hitman, the trio then crosses Europe by train, journeys through India by elephant, and traverses the Himalayas on foot, where they find directions to the yeti hideaway from an ancient Tibetan woman with a googly-eyed chicken on her head.
“Missing Link” is far from a failure. The film displays visually stunning animation, well-developed characters, and humor that largely works. Yet, despite its ambitious scope, the film doesn’t always transition smoothly between the humor and its more serious themes of loneliness and otherness. “Missing Link” is impressive, but it still seems to be missing that special something.
In September, audiences saw the more conventionally computer-animated “Smallfoot,” a buddy comedy about a Himalayan yeti and a publicity-hungry TV host. That film was pure fun, turning folklore on its head, with humans as mythical creatures in the yetis’ imaginations. “Missing Link” tells a more complex tale, set in the Victorian era and realized in the more artisanal look of stop-motion. It comes from the storytellers at Laika Entertainment, the studio that made the uniformly excellent “Kubo and the Two Strings,” “The Boxtrolls” and “Coraline.”
Chris Butler wrote and directed “Missing Link” and also designed the characters. His first film as writer/co-director was Laika’s “ParaNorman,” about a boy who felt like an outcast and saw ghosts. Here he creates two more outcasts – an explorer whose views aren’t accepted by the adventurers’ club he longs to join, and a lonely, last-of-his-breed sasquatch who wants to leave the Pacific Northwest and join his cousins in the Himalayas.
The question is whether Butler’s fable, which echoes such films as “Around the World in 80 Days” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” weaves its wit, intellect and emotions in a fully engaging way. The answer is only sometimes, though always with impressive skill. Yet too often, the story loses its emotional energy, stalling among the intricacies of fight scenes or Himalayan vistas. Only Zach Galifianakis, voicing the sasquatch character Mr. Link, keeps his naive heart firmly on his, er, fur, at all times. Other characters seem to explain the plot rather than live it.
In a ravishing prologue, Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman), a smug yet dashing British explorer, sips tea in a canoe as the Loch Ness monster looms above and then gives him and his manservant a really wild ride. But the fusty old men in London’s Optimates Club don’t believe Sir Lionel’s tales of Nessies or sasquatches or yetis. Nor do they accept evolution. He vows to prove them all wrong, especially Lord Piggot-Dunceby (Stephen Fry), the dean of the group.
A letter arrives suggesting Sir Lionel might find the last surviving sasquatch/Bigfoot in Washington state. The two meet cute in the piney woods, where Sir Lionel is shocked that Mr. Link, as he dubs him, reads and speaks English. Mr. Link, who would really rather be called “Susan,” after a lady prospector who once smiled at him, begs the explorer to take him to the Himalayas, where he can join his probable cousins, the yeti. “I’m lonely,” he says.
Moved by a mix of empathy and ambition, Sir Lionel agrees. This takes the pair on a journey, first to see Adelina Fortnight (Zoe Saldana), the strong-minded widow of a rival explorer; she has a map they need. She joins them as they travel back to London on a voyage that features a terrific-looking storm and a violent confrontation with a hit man (Timothy Olyphant) sent by Lord Piggot-Dunceby. Still stalked by the hit man, the trio then cross Europe by train, India by elephant and the Himalayas on foot, where they get directions to the yeti hideaway from an ancient Tibetan woman with a googly-eyed chicken on her head.
“Missing Link” does not lay an egg by any means. It is visually stunning, with well-realized characters and humor that really does work. Yet somehow, ambitious as it is, the film doesn’t sail easily enough between the yak-poo jokes and its more serious themes of loneliness and otherness. “Missing Link” is impressive, but it’s still missing something.
By Jane Horwitz
