Missing Link is a nice little stop-motion animated film with a standard but still entertaining story to go along with a nice voice cast which includes Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana and Zach Galifianakis; I would say this worth a rental.
Missing Link
(2019)
Genre(s): Animated, Adventure, Comedy
Fox | PG – 94 min. – $34.99 | July 23, 2019
Date Published: 08/05/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Twentieth Century Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.75/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Tired of living a solitary life in the Pacific Northwest, Mr. Link (ZACH GALIFIANAKIS), who is 8 feet tall and covered in fur, recruits fearless explorer Sir Lionel Frost (HUGH JACKMAN) to guide him on a journey to find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight (ZOE SALDANA), the trio encounters their fair share of peril as they travel to the far reaches of the world. Through it all, they learn that sometimes one can find a family in the places one least expects.
Quick Hit Review: Admittedly I’m not overly familiar with the work by Laika Studios which produced many highly touted stop motion films such as Coraline and ParaNorman. Now their latest, Missing Link, is a just an all around pleasant movie. No, it doesn’t have a unique plot and is somewhat predictable from beginning to end, yet still highly entertaining and a breezy sit through the short running time. The voice acting was also rather good headlined by Hugh Jackman and Zach Galifianakis who surprisingly is restrained. The other highlight is the wonderful combination of stop-motion animation and CGI effects and really outside of the mouth movements, which were a little distracting early on (and note, I don’t see very many stop-motion films), became less so as the film went on.
Missing Link was scripted and directed by Chris Butler and is wildly enjoyable fun for the entire family. Sadly, the film was a major bust at the box office, making only $25 million off of a reported $100 million budget. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This release comes with a glossy slip cover and inside a redemption code for the Digital HD. Audio Commentary — Writer/Director Chris Butler Creating Mr. Link (1:23) is a brief look at the design for our main character. Bringing the Final Battle on the Ice Bridge to Life (1:46) is some behind-the-scenes footage on how the sequence was made, using miniature puppets. Animation Inspiration (3:44) – This is basically a storyboard comparison. Includes an optional commentary track with Butler. VFX Breakdown Reel: Realizing the Potential of Stop Motion (6:05) looks at advantages and possibilities of stop motion animation and the team working together and seeing the elements come together. Oh What a Mystery: Pulling the Camera Back on Missing Link’s Magic (2:25) – Here we get a time elapse of some of the set designs and filming various scenes. Pretty cool, actually. Making Faces (0:46) is a compilation of all of the faces used in the film. Inside the Magic of Laika (2:46 is a look at the stop motion centric studio which produced Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings. Gallery (2:05) with some behind-the-scenes shots. Theatrical Trailer (2:25) |
VIDEO – 4.75/5 |
| Fox releases Missing Link onto Blu-ray where it’s presented with a 2.39 and has been given a sharp looking 1080p high-definition transfer. As one would think, this animated (well, stop-motion) movie does look great in HD, detail is well done and colors are bright and vibrant throughout. |
AUDIO – 4.5/5 |
| Here we have a Fox Blu-ray that comes with a Dolby Atmos track which makes me wonder why, when there a title is release on UHD, the Blu-ray counterpart is “downgraded” to DTS-HD MA. Well, in any case, this one does sound wonderful, dialogue comes through the center speaker with good clarity and the various action sequences do manage to show off the wonderful depth while the LFE channel kicks on to shake the floor, primarily. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Missing Link is a nice little stop-motion animated film with a standard but still entertaining story to go along with a nice voice cast which includes Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana and Zach Galifianakis; I would say this worth a rental at least. The Blu-ray release via Fox offers up great video/audio transfers and a so-so selection of bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.