Travel and accommodations provided by United Artists Releasing but did not impact my views or opinions within this post.
Missing Link is a globe-trotting family comedy adventure starring the multi-talented Hugh Jackman, the uber-versatile Zoe Saldana, and the hilarious Zach Galifianakis. It is the most ambitious stop-motion animation movie to date from LAIKA Studios.
We had the opportunity to get an up-close look at the movie when we toured the Missing Link set at LAIKA Studios in Portland, OR. LAIKA is devoted to telling new and original stories such as their Oscar-nominated films Kubo and the Two Strings and Coraline. With Coraline, LAIKA became the first studio to produce a feature-length film using replacement faces printed on a 3D printer. Instead of ink on paper, 3D printing uses a UV-sensitive resin and support material that is sprayed down in a layering process that builds objects in 3D space.
Brian McLean – Director of Rapid Prototyping
Brian was awarded a Scientific and Engineering Oscar® plaque in 2016 for pioneering the use of 3D printers in stop-motion animated characters. In 2017, he received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Visual Effects for his contributions to Kubo and the Two Strings.
Mr. Link voiced by Zach Galifianakis in director Chris Butler’s MISSING LINK, a Laika Studios Production and Annapurna Pictures release. Credit : Laika Studios / Annapurna Pictures
MISSING LINK – In Theaters April 12
This April, meet Mr. Link: 8 feet tall, 630 lbs, and covered in fur, but don’t let his appearance fool you… he is funny, sweet, and adorably literal, making him the world’s most lovable legend at the heart of Missing Link, the globe-trotting family comedy adventure from LAIKA. Tired of living a solitary life in the Pacific Northwest, Mr. Link recruits fearless explorer Sir Lionel Frost to guide him on a journey to find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, our fearless trio of explorers encounter more than their fair share of peril as they travel to the far reaches of the world to help their new friend. Through it all, the three learn that sometimes you can find a family in the places you least expect.
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Zach Galifianakis, Timothy Olyphant, David Walliams, Emma Thompson, Matt Lucas, Ching Valdes-Aran, Stephen Fry, Amrita Acharia
Director: Chris Butler
Writer: Chris Butler
Producers: Travis Knight p.g.a., Arianne Sutner p.g.a.
“The film is based between 1890 and 1910 on the turn of the century. At the time there were a lot of big changes going on in costume, fashion, and design techniques.” – Missing Link Costume Designer, Deborah Cook.
Deborah informed us that it is typically the lead characters' costumes that take the longest to make due to there being so many different levels of their character being explored and represented. She detailed her process of reading through the script, breaking out all of the things that need to done with the character, writing down all of the actions of the characters, taking note if there are any descriptions of their costume written within the script, and lastly looking for details of the characters' personalities that drives what they should be wearing to support their role – – all of which would need to be considered in the designing of the costumes.
All of us that toured the Missing Link set were extremely impressed with the complexity of details involved with the creation of the costume design. I definitely admired the patience once must have to create such tiny costume masterpieces that play an integral part in the success of stop-animation movies.
What exactly is the stop-motion animated film process?
Stop-motion is an animated-film making technique where objects are physically managed in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion when the series of frames is played back as a fast sequence.
Sir Lionel Frost (left) voiced by Hugh Jackman and Mr. Link (right) voiced by Zach Galifianakis in director Chris Butler’s MISSING LINK, a Laika Studios Production and Annapurna Pictures release.
Credit : Laika Studios / Annapurna Pictures
Get Social with Missing Link!
Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | #MissingLink
We hope you enjoyed Divine Lifestyle's Missing Link in Theatres April 12! | #MissingLink post.
Article written by Autumn Murray
Autumn Murray is the Lead Travel Writer for Divine Lifestyle
and the Founder of Simply Amazing Living online lifestyle magazine.
Click here for more of her articles: Simply Amazing Living
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I can’t wait to see this movie! i love the concept. So original
Thanks for the review and the short video clips of the trailer. The yeti look super cute and love and I shall bring my family to watch it together.
this is definitely the type pf movie my boyfriend likes to watch. Looks like a great movie!
Quite a bit of work goes into stop motion films. It would be fun to watch the process for this movie! It sounds like an outside the box movie with a different plot that most. Thanks for sharing this with us!
I didn’t know about this movie and I’m one who looks at ALL the cartoons coming out! Thanks for the info!
It is amazing that the film is shot entirely in individual photographs. I’ve seen the trailer for this and it looks like a film my family will really enjoy.
I do enjoy stop motion animated films, especially because of how hard it is to create them. I would like to see the missing link, especially with that fantastic cast!
I hope we can watch it in Egypt soon!
This looks really fun. I have seen the trailer and I think we are really going to enjoy watching this!
Omg I cannot wait to see this movie!
I love animated movies! I’ve never heard of this one, but I definitely want to see it. Thank you for the recommendation.
Looks like a nice movie Nice reading your thoughts about the reasons to watch it.
What a fun movie. Perfect for kids. I hope it will have screening here on our Country
I can’t wait to watch it with my kids. They are going to enjoy this one so much!
What a fun movie. Perfect for the whole family. My kids would love watching this on theatre.
I’m really looking forward to this movie. My kids have been asking about it!
Looks like a great movie to watch. My kids would be so happy to see this. I’ll have to share this with them.
It definitely looks promising and fun! very nice review for the toon.
this movie interests me. i hope it will be available in our country, too, so we could check it out.
This looks like it will be a really cute movie! I bet our kids will want to see it.
I do admire the people behind this movie on their passion and dedication. This movie sounds really enjoyable to watch with the whole family.
It’s always so fascinating and fun to see how animated films are made…looks like a fun movie for everyone!
Oh, that looks like a fun movie to watch. I will invite my niece to watch this movie. She would love this for sure.
Oooh I am so going to watch it with family. Sounds so much fun. And Hugh and Zoe are amazing actors
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Looks like a great movie for the family. Thanks for sharing
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I’ve heard so much about Missing Link, I can’t wait to watch it, i am sure it is going to be great.
How fun! I hadn’t even heard about this movie before reading your post. I can’t wait to check it out when it’s released! Thanks for sharing!
thank you for well written review
have a great day
My hubby is a movie fanatic we will for sure take the kids to see this
Heard so much and read a lot of articles about this movie. It got me more excited to see it. My family and I will be watching it this weekend. Looking forward to a great time!
I had never heard of the movie before now. It looks like it would be such a great one to see with the family.
I have never really considered how long it took to create stop motion films! I have seen the trailer for this one several times — it looks like it will be fun!
I haven’t heard of this film but it looks like a fun one for the whole fam!
The missing link looks like such a fun movie. Looking forward to seeing it especially after your review. Thanks
This looks like a fun family movie. We often enjoy seeing new releases when we can watch them with our kiddos at home.
Weekend is here and I am watching this movie! It sounds like a perfect family film for animation lovers. ✔😊
Missing Link looks like another good family animation movie. :0)
Seems like an very adorable movie. Animation movies have come a long way.Thanks for sharing.
I love Stop-motion animated films, so I’m adding this to our must see list. Missing Link looks like a film my whole family is going to enjoy!
We look forward to seeing this one! It looks like such a fun movie. The trailer for it is so awesome.
We are so excited for this movie! My girls can’t wait to see it!
OH this sounds fab! My girls would love it!
This is the first time I heard about the movie. I should really check it out if it is already showing in my local cinema!
I love Zoe is in this movie. I bet my 11 year old niece would enjoy this.
This looks like such a fun movie for us to take the kids to. I appreciate all of the information you provided from your visit.
I can’t wait to see this. My son just went to see the new Avengers movie this weekend and my 4 year old was asking when it would be her turn to go see a movie.
I went and seen this at the theater with my son. We thought it was a good movie!
This movie is so cute! This is exactly the type of movie that my kid goes crazy over!
I need to take my family to go see this movie. It looks like such a fun and exciting adventure.
I have seen the trailers for the Missing Link and would love a behind-the-scenes tour of the set! How exciting and fun for you to have the opportunity! This movie looks like it is right up my hubby’s alley and my young adult kids, too!
My kids really wanted to see this! Looks so funny!
This looks like a fun movie! My niece always ask me out to a movie. This is perfect for our next one.
I really appreciate how difficult it is to make these types of animation features. I have not seen it yet, but plan on it.
Those costumes look amazing. I think I do want to see this movie
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