**** outta *****

4 outta 5

Missing Link is by the same studio, Laika, that made Kubo and the Two Strings and while it isn’t as dramatically powerful as that pseudo-Samurai epic, this is quite an enjoyable romp. It is basically an adventure movie with a slick hero, a steadfast sidekick, and their wacky weird newfound friend. The stop motion animation is wonderful to see unfold which gives the movie a distinct visual texture that is missing from the monthly parade of CGI cartoon movies. Its message is simple, be yourself and everything will turn out fine, but it’s done in a very funny, madcap way.

Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) is a hero who is searching for any mythical animal to endear him to a group of great adventuring men led by Lord Piggot-Dunceby (Stephen Fry). So far, he has only returned empty handed with tall tales of creatures that almost got away. When he receives a letter telling him of a Sasquatch, he travels to the Northwest and discovers one who he names Mister Link (Zack Galifianakis). Link wasn’t too hard to find because Link wrote the letter himself as it turns out Link is verbose and articulate, having studied humans from afar for years. Link has heard of other creatures like him in cold sections of the world so he and Frost set out with the help of Frost’s plucky former flame, Adelina (Zoe Saldana). But it turns out Lord Piggot-Dunceby is on their trail with a nasty hired gun, Willard (Timothy Olyphant) and they want to claim the incredible creature for their own.

The script for the movie is very quippy which befits the old school adventure movie vibe. Frost usually has a very dry funny remark when someone says something like a classical action hero. A lot of the times, Frost says something with cultured language and Link misunderstands the basic context of what he’s saying. Unlike Kubo, there isn’t a lot of thematic depth but this movie accurately recalls an adventure style of bygone era. Even the travelling from one location to another is covered by a line moving across the map like in the Indiana Jones movies which is a cool nod.

Jackman voicing the main character puts in uber-dramatic oomph which is fun. He sounds like a proper gentleman who remains unphased by the craziness around him. It is not a very deep character but he makes for a good straight man to the outlandishness of his Yeti partner, forcing Link to wear human clothes simply because he finds the notion of the nude Yeti walking around indecent. Galifianakis plays his character as humorously timid, and while Frost names him Link later the Yeti comes up with a name for himself, Susan, after a nice woman he met once. He gets in moments where he can surprise people, like in the middle of a bar brawl, he gets on all fours and roars like a wild animal which freaks out the brawlers. Saldana’s supporting former love interest is also not a unique character type, she’s rough and tumble and has snarky patter with Frost, but still Saldana has a very loud, energetic delivery which carries through. The baddies are irredeemably bad, Willard is designed to look like a snarling scheming rat person as he guffaws sinisterly while trying to shoot Frost down. Piggot-Dunceby has an elaborate look of an old African Safari big game hunter and Fry’s vocal performance is appropriately bombastic.

The real star is the incredible stop motion filmmaking work, a style that has gone out of favour in feature animation as Laika studios is basically the only one keeping it rolling. It’s nifty to just see how they move as it’s not jerky like stop motion can be but instead is very fluid. There are some pretty good action scenes throughout, like a fight on a boat during a rainstorm that is zippy and accomplishing rain in stop motion animation is impressive. The scene features some fun moments like when Link tries to yank Adelina through a porthole and smacks her head accidentally. Later on there’s a bit where the trio meet an ancient woman who gives them guidance but they’re distracted by her mad looking chicken and her disgusting food. Some of the gags here are a bit too easy gross out jokes, like when Link mistakes something for cookies which is kind of lame. The best visual stuff is near the end when they find the society of Abominable Snowmen who just want to be left alone as Emma Thompson voices the elder who talks in questions and riddles. The world they live in is a very cold icy looking design with the Snowmen looking somewhat close to Link yet different, referring to him as a redneck cousin. She has some great lines that point out the absurdity of them wanting to be isolationist yet not allowing prisoners to leave.

Missing Link is a fun ride that gets along mostly on style over substance. It’s throwback classic vibe makes it stand out from the sometimes too frantic tone that can be prevalent in feature animation. The characters are kind of basic but a whole lot of charm sails Missing Link through.