| Missing Link | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Chris Butler |
| Written by | Chris Butler |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Chris Peterson |
| Edited by | Stephen Perkins |
| Music by | Carter Burwell |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists Releasing (underAnnapurna Pictures) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 94 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $100 million |
| Box office | $26.6 million[1] |
Missing Link is a 2019 American animatedadventurecomedy film written and directed byChris Butler. The film is produced byLaika, and stars the voices ofHugh Jackman,Zoe Saldana,David Walliams,Stephen Fry,Matt Lucas,Timothy Olyphant,Amrita Acharia, Ching Valdes-Aran,Emma Thompson, andZach Galifianakis. The plot follows Mr. Link, aSasquatch who, with the help of British explorers Sir Lionel Frost and Adelina Fortnight, travels to theHimalayas to meet hisYeti cousins.
Development on a newstop-motion Laika animated film on "Film Five" began in April 2018, with Butler to direct and write the project and the voice cast announced. In May 2018, additional voice cast were announced, with the title being revealed. By June 2018, Laika announced thatMissing Link would be released in April 2019. Production was reportedly underway by May 2018 with Laika's artists having constructed over 110 sets with 65 unique locations for the film.Carter Burwell composed the film's musical score. With a budget of $100 million,Missing Link is the most expensive film ever made from Laika and the most expensive stop-motion animated film of all time.
Missing Link premiered in New York City on April 7, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 12, 2019 byAnnapurna Pictures throughUnited Artists Releasing.Missing Link is Laika's first film not to be distributed byFocus Features. Although it was abox-office failure, grossing $26.2 million against its $102.3 million production budget, losing $101.3 million,[2] the film received positive reviews from critics, who praised its animation, voice-over performances, humor and light-hearted standards compared to other Laika works, although some drew criticism towards the writing.[3] It won theGolden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film,[4] making it the first non-CGI animated film to win in the category, and the first non-CGI animated film to win a Golden Globe sinceWaltz with Bashir (2008).[5] It also received a nomination at the92nd Academy Awards forBest Animated Feature.
In 1886, Sir Lionel Frost, a struggling investigator of mythical creatures, continuously searched for different creatures to study and announce their presence in the world, which would allow him to be accepted into the "Society of Great Men", which is led by Sir Lionel's rival, Lord Piggot-Dunceby. Lionel receives a letter acknowledging the presence of aSasquatch, making a deal with Piggot-Dunceby that would allow him to join the society if he proved that the creature was real.
Lionel travels to the Pacific Northwest, eventually stumbling upon the Sasquatch in aforest. After dubbing him "Mr. Link", Lionel is told by the Sasquatch that he was, in fact, the one who sent the letter. Mr. Link requests Lionel's help in finding his relatives, theYetis, in the Himalayas. Lionel agrees to help him but is unaware of the fact that Piggot-Dunceby has hired abounty hunter named Willard Stenk to track Lionel and kill him, ensuring that the pro-imperialist conservative views of the society remain unchallenged.
Lionel's old lover Adelina Fortnight has amap to theHimalayas locked at her house inSanta Ana, California, in asafe that belonged to her late husband, one of Lionel's past partners, so the two visit hermansion to acquire it. However, Adelina harbors resentment for Lionel missing her husband's funeral and kicks him out when he offers to pay her for the map. Lionel and Mr. Link come back later at night and break in, but Mr. Link's noise-making awakens Adelina, who fires at the intruders and instead creates a hole in the safe. Mr. Link pushes the safe out of the top-floor window. Mr. Link and Lionel grab the map and escape but are discovered the next day by Adelina, who allows them to search for the Yetis as long as she is there to accompany them. Stenk arrives, and a shootout ensues, but the trio tricks their pursuer into hopping on thetrain to search for them.
The trio makes their journey via boat, and Adelina pressures Lionel into reaching out to Mr. Link to prove his sincerity. Lionel enjoys a heartwarming talk with Mr. Link on the boat'sdeck, where Mr. Link gives himself thename "Susan" after a friendly prospector he once encountered. However, they are once again ambushed by Stenk. After various scuffles across different parts of theship, the trio eventually locks Stenk in the boat's boarding rooms while they make another escape.
The trio eventually makes their way to the Himalayas and is pointed in the direction of the Yeti temple atShangri-La, and led to their Queen, who reveals their secluded valley to the group. She then reveals their disdain for mankind extends to Susan, who has interacted closely with them. They throw the trio in a pit for them to stay until they die, where Adelina confronts Lionel on his need for the Society's acceptance being similar to Susan's rejection by the yetis. Susan hoists up Adelina enough to knock down a few Yeti guards, allowing them to stack them and escape. They run across theice bridge, where an armed Piggot-Dunceby, his assistant Mr. Collick and Stenk are waiting at the center of the bridge. Lionel denounces his rival's pride and defends Susan as more human than Piggot-Dunceby ever will be. As a result, the insane Piggot-Dunceby starts firing his rifle at the ice bridge to kill the trio, until Susan stops Piggot-Dunceby from getting any further, still causing it to crack and break. Piggot-Dunceby and Collick fall to their deaths while the trio and Stenk make a run for it. They are too late and are left hanging on the edge of the destroyed ice bridge. Stenk, who has made it all the way across, decides to finish off Lionel, despite Lionel insisting that it is pointless since Piggot is no longer alive to pay him. This leads to the two engaging in a slapping fight while hanging on thebridge. The trio works together to rid themselves of Stenk, who falls to his death after anicicle breaks and falls on him. Lionel appoints Susan as his new partner in investigations.
After arriving home, Adelina tells Lionel that she will be adventuring on her own for a while and departs, but not before the pair share a brief mutual acceptance of their feelings for each other. Susan and Lionel arrive back at the latter's work space and begin their next case to findAtlantis. After they leave, the end credits reveal maps and souvenirs of their subsequent adventures.
Old Worlders voiced byLeila Birch,Jean Gilpin, Peter Lavin, Tom Muggeridge,Jimmy Hibbert,David Holt,Christopher Neame,Moira Quirk, Maebel Rayner,Alexander James Rodriguez,Julian Stone, and Nick Toren.
New Worlders voiced byKirk Baily, David Beron, William Calvert, David Cowgill, Kerry Gutierrez,Bridget Hoffman,Scott Menville, Erin Myles, Juan Pacheco,Paul Pape,André Sogliuzzo, andScott Whyte.
Himalayan villagers voiced by Phal Tong Lama, Yangchen Dolkar Gakyil, and Tharlam Dolma Wolfe.
On April 25, 2018, it was announced thatLaika had begun development on "Film Five," a new animated film written and directed byChris Butler and starringHugh Jackman,Zoe Saldana, andZach Galifianakis. The film was set to be distributed byAnnapurna Pictures in the United States.[6][7] On May 7, 2018, it was announced that the film had been titledMissing Link and that additional voice actors would includeStephen Fry,Emma Thompson,Timothy Olyphant,Matt Lucas,David Walliams, Ching Valdez-Aran, andAmrita Acharia.[8][9]
Production was reportedly underway by May 2018 with Laika's artists having constructed over 110 sets with 65 unique locations for the film.[10]
Overall, the budget was approximately $100 million.[11]
On October 9, 2018,Carter Burwell was confirmed to score music for the film.[12] The soundtrack was released on April 12, 2019 byLakeshore Records, the same day as the theatrical release.[13]
The film was released in the United States on April 12, 2019 byUnited Artists Releasing, Annapurna Pictures andMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer's joint distribution company, making it Laika's first film not to be distributed byFocus Features.[14][15]
International sales rights to the film were held byAGC International, who pre-sold the movie to distribution companies likeLionsgate for the United Kingdom,[16]Metropolitan Filmexport for France,[17]Elevation Pictures for Canada,Roadshow Films for Australia and New Zealand,Entertainment One for Germany and Spain, Leone Film Group for Italy, Applause Entertainment for Taiwan, GAGA for Japan, ISU C&E for South Korea, Selim Ramia for the Middle East, The Searchers for Benelux, Mis. Label for Scandinavia, Vertical Entertainment for Eastern Europe, UFD for Ukraine andBuena Vista International for Latin America, Russia, Malaysia and Singapore.[18][19]
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the film in the United States on digital on July 9, 2019 and onBlu-ray andDVD on July 23, 2019.[20]
Missing Link grossed $16.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $9.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $26.2 million.[1]Deadline Hollywood calculated the net loss of the film to be $101.3 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[11]
In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongsideLittle,Hellboy, andAfter, and was projected to gross around $10 million from 3,314 theaters in its opening weekend.[21] However, after grossing $1.6 million on its first day (including $230,000 from Thursday night previews), it went on to debut to $5.9 million, finishing ninth at the box office and marking the 12th-worst opening for a film playing in over 3,000 theaters, the worst opening for a film playing in over 3,150 theaters, and the lowest start for a Laika film ever.[22] In its second weekend the film dropped 27% to $4.4 million, finishing ninth.[23]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 171 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Another beautifully animated triumph for Laika,Missing Link is a visual treat with lots of humor, plenty of heart, and even a little food for thought."[24] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[25] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those atPostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 81% and a "definite recommend" of 63%.[22]
Peter Debruge ofVariety wrote: "Sooner or later, Laika was bound to branch out, which makes this funnier, more colorful film the link previously missing between the company's Goth-styled past and whatever comes next."[26]John Nugent ofEmpire Magazine praised the film, calling it "a charming family-friendly story about adventure and friendship—told with bar-raising artistic craft and technical skill. We'd expect nothing less from Laika."[27]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | February 9, 2020 | Best Animated Feature | Chris Butler,Arianne Sutner, andTravis Knight | Nominated | [28] |
| Annie Awards | January 25, 2020 | Best Animated Feature | Arianne Sutner andTravis Knight | Nominated | [29] |
| Animated Effects in an Animated Production | Eric Wachtman, David Horsley, Peter Stuart, Timur Khodzhaev, and Joe Strasser | Nominated | |||
| Character Animation in a Feature Production | Rachelle Lambden | Nominated | |||
| Directing in a Feature Production | Chris Butler | Nominated | |||
| Production Design in an Animated Feature Production | Nelson Lowry, Santiago Montiel, and Trevor Dalmer | Nominated | |||
| Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production | Julián Nariño | Nominated | |||
| Oliver Thomas | Nominated | ||||
| Editorial in an Animated Feature Production | Stephen Perkins | Nominated | |||
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | January 12, 2020 | Best Animated Feature | Missing Link | Nominated | [30] |
| Golden Globe Awards | January 5, 2020 | Best Animated Feature Film | Missing Link | Won | [31] |
| Producers Guild of America Awards | January 18, 2020 | Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures | Arianne Sutner andTravis Knight | Nominated | [32] |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | December 9, 2019 | Best Animated Film | Missing Link | Nominated | [33] |
| Visual Effects Society Awards | January 29, 2020 | Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature | Brad Schiff,Travis Knight,Steve Emerson, and Benoit Dubuc | Won | [34] [35] |
| Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature | Rachelle Lambden, Brenda Baumgarten, Morgan Hay, and Benoit Dubuc for "Susan" | Won | |||
| Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature | Oliver Jones, Phil Brotherton, Nick Mariana, and Ralph Procida for "Passage to India Jungle" | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project | Todd Alan Harvey, Dan Casey, and Katy Hughes for "The Manchuria" | Nominated |
