7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
The charismatic Sir Lionel Frost (voiced by Hugh Jackman) considers himself to be the world's foremost investigator of myths and monsters. The trouble is none of his small-minded high-society peers seems to recognize this. Sir Lionel's last chance for acceptance by the adventuring elite rests on traveling to America's Pacific Northwest to prove the existence of a legendary creature. A living remnant of Man's primitive ancestry. The Missing Link.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldaña, David Walliams, Stephen Fry, Matt LucasAnimation | 100% |
Family | 94% |
Comedy | 11% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Forget Rodney Dangerfield, it seems like it’s really stop motion animators who “don’t get no respect”. I’m incredibly lucky to live in the
general vicinity of Laika Studios, and I’ve known many a crew member who has worked on various productions, and the care and finesse that
typically goes into offerings from this studio are truly mind boggling. Could you imagine spending days — weeks — slowly
moving items and snapping still photos of each change, in the hope that once those stills approached 24 fps levels, they’d translate into fluid
motion? I know that I would have neither the skill nor perhaps more importantly the patience to fashion such art.
That doesn’t even take into account the fabrication of props, costumes and the articulated figures that will become people, pets and even perhaps
the
occasional Sasquatch. And yet for the most part Laika has yet to really set the box office on fire in any spectacular way, something that once
again kind of weirdly and head scratchingly happened with regard to this film.
Laika’s previous releases have often been on the dark and disturbing side, as if they had been excavated from the still
developing Id of some emotionally roiled child, but Missing Link offers little of the psychological undertones of, say, Coraline or ParaNorman, instead offering an at least relatively cheerier story that presents a globe trotting late 19th century
explorer named Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) who is intent on proving the existence of supposedly mythical creatures. The film begins with a
slapstick vignette documenting Frost’s encounter with the (mostly) submerged denizen of one Loch Ness, and while he does in fact get proof of
Nessie’s existence, it’s (probably expectedly) destroyed in the maelstrom of “getting to know” her. That means Frost still needs to find some form
of
entré into a snooty club of explorers in London headed by the unctuous Lord Piggot-Dunceby (Stephen Fry). When a pile of mail falls on
a
distraught Frost in the wake of his Nessie adventure, he comes across a scrawled note sent to him asking him to prove the existence of Sasquatch
in
the good old Pacific Northwest of the United States of America.
Missing Link is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. About the only significant complaint I could imagine fans having with this release is that there is neither a 3D nor a 4K version. This is another stunning looking Laika production that benefits from a problem free presentation in high definition. Practical elements like fabrics in costumes or even the rubbery "fur" that adorns Mr. Link's bulbous body are frequently almost palpable, and the palette similarly bristles with an incredible gamut of tones. The story's various locations, both exotic and perhaps otherwise, provide great examples for both gorgeous backgrounds (some of which can admittedly be a bit soft looking at times) and finely rendered characters within those environments. Fine detail is typically excellent throughout the presentation, even in some midrange shots. I noticed no compression anomalies of any import.
Missing Link features an intermittently boisterous sounding Dolby Atmos track. Surround activity is consistent and typically extremely immersive, but perhaps surprisingly this didn't feature a ton of (literally) over the top Atmos effects. A glut of outdoor material, often with pretty cacophonous events unfolding, allows regular engagement of the side and rear channels for nicely placed ambient environmental and other sound effects. The film's bouncy score also tends to reside in the surround channels nicely throughout. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.
Since it was for another site for whom I worked prior to Blu-ray.com, I won't post a direct link, but enterprising Googlers can find an interview I did with Coraline line producer Harry Linden several years ago which hopefully gives a little insight into both stop motion production, line producing and the culture at Laika (at least at the time). Harry got my younger son a really sweet birthday present of a personally inscribed Coraline poster from Henry Selick to my kid, and it hangs proudly in my son's bedroom to this day. Perhaps because of this and other personal connections, I have true admiration for the artistry Laika brings to the table, and it's once again dazzlingly on display in Missing Link. The story here could have used a bit of punching up, especially on the comedic side, which is sometimes forced, but the characters are wonderfully daffy and the entire production design impeccably impressive. Technical merits are first rate, and with a few niggling caveats noted, Missing Link comes Recommended.
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