Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		2.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.0

The Missing Lynx Blu-ray Movie Review

Don't try to find it.

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 16, 2013

We see this type of production pop up every now and again. Trying to compete with Hollywood animation factories like Disney and Dreamworks, independent studios typically have a devil of a time trying to get a foothold into the global market, often faced with lackluster budgets and wheezy scripts as they cook up colorful CG-animated antics for the kiddies. A Spanish production presented and produced by Antonio Banderas, “The Missing Lynx” is similar to releases such as “The Wild” and the recent “Escape from Planet Earth,” attempting to drum up some excitement with little in the way of cinematic might, relying on frantic action, crude comedy, and artificial sincerity to make an impression with wee ones who’d gladly watch a test pattern if it included the promise of candy, soda, and popcorn. Exhaustively underwhelming and cheapy all around, “The Missing Lynx” isn’t even passable babysitting fodder, asking children to sit through a routine adventure with anthropomorphized animals engaged in acts of panic and elastic derring-do.

In the far reaches of Spain, wildlife is taking quite a hit, with the lynx population steadily dropping due to the presence of a hunter in the area. To protect the animals, a local shelter has been fortified with heavy security, hoping to preserve what’s left of the wild. Brought in for safekeeping is lynx Felix, a perennial capture who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Greeting chameleon Gus, falcon Astarte, goat Betty, and mole Rupert, Felix is eager to return to his carefree life. However, the addition of a female lynx named Lynxette keeps Felix close, finally finding the male a suitable mate to help repopulate the species. Gunning for the gang is ace hunter Newmann, a behemoth of a man who’s been tasked by mysterious Mr. Noah to gather two of every animal and return them to a special ark under construction, for a purpose that’s not immediately understood. Fearing certain doom as Newmann and his dim-witted lackeys descend on the complex to retrieve their prizes, most of the animals manage to escape, forced to traverse a taxing Spanish terrain, greeting friends and enemies along the way. Determined to rescue Lynxette, Felix declares war on Newmann, battling his way into the ark before Mr. Noah takes off with his one true love.

“The Missing Lynx” opens with the discovery of a dead animal, which is a morbid way for directors Raul Garcia (a former Disney animator) and Manuel Sicilia to introduce their featherweight picture to the audience. It’s not a crippling tonal blow, but just unnerving enough to wonder what the feature has in store for viewers. The severe act is meant to underline the conservation aspect of the screenplay, which takes an understandable stand against poaching, dressing up Newmann as a pink Hulk out to destroy anything that steps into his crosshairs. He’s an exaggerated villain, which isn’t a problem. What Mr. Noah is up to is a little hazier and distracting (biblical implications are barely explored), with the story juggling the motivation of possible wickedness with the activity of our animal heroes as they grow confident with their natural gifts. Keep in mind that “The Missing Lynx” runs nearly 100 minutes, which should provide some evidence that Garcia and Sicilia are gunning for glory with their effort, attempting to build an epic quest of rescue and survival out of the barest of working parts.

“The Missing Lynx” looks terrible, cursed with budget-minded animation that’s reminiscent of a “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” episode, only with stiffer character movement. Granted, the picture was produced in 2006, but that doesn’t excuse a production that should’ve aimed lower with their technical ambition, working more creatively to erase visual limitations. Instead, “The Missing Lynx” is painful dollar-store product that strains eyeballs. To make up for the clunky look of the feature, the screenplay serves up a steady stream of action sequences, tracking Felix’s efforts to thwart Newmann’s vicious hunting plans, while members of his makeshift army each receive a scene where they exercise their animal instincts, contributing to the noisy slapstick atmosphere “The Missing Lynx” prefers to help pass the elongated running time, peppered with fecal matter jokes to keep children attentive to the tedious shenanigans.

Another annoying quality of the script is how every screen action is narrated by the characters, as thought the production was fearful its youngest viewers couldn’t keep up. It’s insulting at times, acting as a descriptive audio service for screen activity that’s ridiculously easy to follow. Surely complaining about such matters seems petty, yet with all the nonsense that’s stuffed into this brainless effort, it might come as a surprise to find how quickly the verbal recap direction aggravates.

The Missing Lynx Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is going to be a shock to those weaned on HD transfers from Pixar and Dreamworks. As previously stated, this is a low-budget effort with crude animation, which doesn't generally carry much texture to begin with. It's a soft image with limited detail, resembling an upconverted DVD at times, showing some mild haloing and pixelation. Banding is also detected. Colors run hot, dialed up to extremes that tend to blow out the stability of the hues, though this isn't a common occurrence. Blacks are generally weak and uninviting, rendering evening sequences muddy. It's not a particularly accomplished Blu-ray event, missing a grand display of animated minutiae common to the genre.

The Missing Lynx Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix is as pedestrian as the visuals, though some dimensional effort is displayed. While there's no dynamic directional activity, there is some immersion through scoring cues that reach back to the surrounds, while a few atmospheric elements are engorged beyond the front stage. Dialogue exchanges are concrete and understandable, managing accent similarity and vocal quality without losing the listener, sustaining the chaos of the action sequences without distortion. Low-end only perks up during soundtrack selections, remaining largely undisturbed. Scoring is adequate for this type of production, staying out the way until needed to underscore an emotion or action break. Cartoony events are pronounced in a satisfactory manner, splatting and swatting with eagerness.

The Missing Lynx Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Pre-Production Animation (11:02, SD) serves up a plethora of scenes in various stages of completion, highlighting the progress of work throughout the film. The clips run the gamut from animatics to near-final animation, with various voices (sound quality is sketchy at best) feeling out the comedic and dramatic possibilities of these moments. Perhaps students of CG-animation will find this assembly most useful, screening the creative choices that paved the way to the final feature. Interestingly, score selections from "The Goonies," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," and "Batman Returns" are employed to set the mood, which does wonders for this banal screen adventure.

• Production Screenshots (3:32, SD) collects a series of stills from the feature for reasons unknown. After all, use of such images is probably protected by copyright laws, leaving this flip-book for the movie pretty much useless.

• A Theatrical Trailer (2:05, HD), featuring a playful cameo from producer Banderas, is included.

The Missing Lynx Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Overlong, undernourished, and unheroic, "The Missing Lynx" wheezes to roughly five endings (if you're a glutton for punishment, sit through the end credits, there's another one) before it calls it quits, desperate to locate a conclusion that satisfies when the mere act of narrative extension is the film's true source of misery. It's a dispiriting picture that's content to coast on moldy formula and threadbare technical achievements to entertain. Your kids deserve better.