Missing Link

The first thing that has to be said when talking about 'Missing Link' is that it looks absolutely incredible. With each film, Laika's stop motion animation has improved and this is no exception. While the world might not be as visually interesting as some of their previous creations, what's there looks phenomenal and the characters are animated even better. The movements and facial expressions are so fluid, to the point where it genuinely looks computer generated. The care and craft it must have taken to create this is extraordinary. Where Laika's latest is not up to par, however, is in its narrative and characters. The characters themselves are fun and have entertaining interactions, but nobody really has any arcs or development, and they're all pretty much bottled down to having one trait. Sure, Lionel Frost changes by the end of the narrative, but it feels completely forced, unrealistic and unearned, which is something that can't be said about any of the protagonists in Laika's previous works. The actual story itself is very simple and quite generic, but luckily the globe-trotting adventure includes several locations and scenarios for the characters to be in, which are all entertaining. The relationship between Frost and Mr. Link leads to some entertaining interactions, and the situations they find themselves in are all fairly humorous, too. So, while it's not all that original and there aren't really any arcs, it is entertaining throughout. Surprisingly, the action sequences are well done and actually quite thrilling, while still retaining the fun 'adventure feel'. It's also, like the rest of Laika's works, not afraid of pulling its punches and is more mature than the average animated feature. Overall, it's arguably the worst film that Laika has produced thus far, but it is still very entertaining and has great animation. 7/10