Laika Studios’ consistently brilliant animated output has often been dark and creepy (Coraline, Paranorman) or grand and mythical (Kubo And The Two Strings) – but for its latest stop-motion movie, it’s trying something different: sweet and goofy family comedy. Missing Link is, as you might guess, an adventure revolving around the discovery of the ‘missing link’ – a bigfoot-esque creature who represents an undiscovered part of the evolutionary chain. Along with his discoverer Sir Lionel Frost, Mr. Link goes off in search of others like him in the mythical valley of Shangri-La. Watch the UK trailer here.
As sometimes happens, the US trailer – also released today – gives a slightly different look at the film. You can watch that version below:
This looks much cutesier than anything in Laika’s past, but also looks to bring the gorgeous, textured animation style that has become the studio’s signature. In the voice cast you’ll find the likes of Hugh Jackman as Mr. Frost, Zach Galifianakis as Mr. Link, and Zoe Saldana as Adelina Fortnight – another adventurer who joins the pair on their quest. The likes of Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, David Walliams, Timothy Olyphant, Matt Lucas and Amrita Acharia are also lending their voices to the film.
Missing Link is written and directed by Chris Butler, who was an character designer on Coraline, wrote and directed Paranorman, and was a writer and head of story on Kubo. The film can be discovered in UK cinemas from 5 April 2019.
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