by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
I’ve always had a soft spot for animation. More years than not, at least a couple of animated features find their way onto my top 10 list. So, I’m setting out to shine a light on some films that may have passed you by. The idea is to take a look at some underseen gems—so no Toy Story or Frozen.
Let’s get started.
—
Despite my unexplainable struggles to connect with the medium of stop motion animation, it should say something that I assumed I’d watched more Laika films than I actually had because of their reputation in the medium. However, Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings are the only features I had checked out to this point.
With Wildwood now in theaters, I was adamant in giving the studio another shot. Aside from the passion and technical innovation that they pour into their films, they do seem legitimately committed to climbing as they go within the industry through their partnership with Bowie State University.
So, I fired up Missing Link to see if I could accomplish that goal.
Though not as well received as some of the other Laika entries, the film still earned the studio another Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature and did take home a Golden Globe (for whatever that’s worth). The film, written and directed by Chris Butler (ParaNorman), follows an adventurer (Hugh Jackman) seeking to gain acceptance amongst his peers by locating the mythical bigfoot (Zach Galifianakis).
The story itself is a pretty straightforward globetrotting quest (complete with map transitions), but I found this movie to be a delight to watch, down largely to Galifianakis’s performance. He plays the naivety of a creature with no knowledge of the world at large with such charm, it’s impossible not to be taken in by him. The bit of his not understanding social cues or turns of phrases could have easily become grating, but he never loses his charm. He perfectly fits as a creature with a heart of gold. (and, no, I’m not exactly sure what I mean by that either). He provides much of the charm, as Jackman is much more a straight man in their dynamic, despite the eccentricities of his profession—though his attempt at communicating with residents of a remote village is one of the movie’s best jokes. I found Jackman’s character got a boost by the introduction of Zoe Saldaña’s Adelina, the widow of a former colleague and someone with her own history with Jackman’s Sir Lionel Frost. Their interplay serves as a welcome addition around the film’s halfway point.
The rest of the voice cast is filled with a lot of familiar names that are less distracting and more an added joy—everybody is having fun, and it shows. Timothy Olyphant is chewing ALL the scenery as a mythical creature-hunter, paid to stop the duo from reaching their destination. Stephen Fry is delightfully and (fittingly) cartoonishly aristocratic as Lord Piggot-Dunceby, the leader of the society determined to keep Frost out of their halls. Matt Lucas (coincidentally a current contestant on Taskmaster, whoI am very much enjoying) as his assistant is fun in a limited role. Emma Thompson, likewise, uses her limited screentime well to lend a… regal presence to proceedings.
Obviously, the animation here is quite lovely. The naturalistic nature of the settings allows for the creation of lush worlds by the animators. The character designs, by contrast, offer something unique in each profile. It also uses some clever editing cuts and transitions that add to the films sense of fun.
The story may not have the depth of some others, but as a precursor to the studio’s latest release, it got me enough in its good graces to look forward to what they have to offer next.
—
I’m excited to continue to geek out on some great, animated works you may not have had a chance to catch. Next month, we’ve got a new witchy Disney film that should be easy enough to link.
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Bluesky and Letterboxd