Missing Link has everything you want in a great animated film - a cracking story that will entertain kids and adults alike, some belly laughs, and breath taking animation. Missing Link has all of those ingredients in spades. 

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Tired of living a solitary life in the Pacific Northwest, Mr Link, who is 8 feet tall and covered in fur, 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, the trio encounter their fair share of peril as they travel to the far reaches of the world. 

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As well as Missing Link, Laika animation have produced four other feature length films - Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, and Kubo and the Two Strings. Every film has pushed the animation boundaries, using old stop motion technology with 21st century technical wizardry. But they have burst forth from their slightly gothic style to not only out do themselves on a large scale but produce a rare treat - a highly engaging, entertaining film and a work of cinematic art. 

 

Like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Missing Link breaks boundaries when it comes to animation. You have to regularly pinch yourself that this is actually a stop motion animated film. The characters are bursting with life and the many exotic locations are filled with such intricate detail, that it can't possibly be animated. But it is. 

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Films can look great and be technically ground breaking but ultimately it comes down to story. But Missing Link is a rip, roaring adventure film a Victorian Indiana Jones who is in search of mythical beasties instead of archeological treasure.

 

The story revolves around the determined Sir Lionel Frost the explorer and Mr. Link the simple but lonely sasquatch. Their camaraderie and their banter are at the very heart of the movie which pulls you in and which results in you really caring for and investing in these characters. 

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Its action packed from the get go as Sir Lionel attempts to rescue his friend from the jaws of Nessie, to a fight on a ship in a raging storm, to the final scrap in the heights of the Himalayas. Missing Link is also incredibly funny with their being quite a number of occasions where the person in front of me nearly got sprayed with Coke Zero as I burst out laughing. 

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Very small children may get lost in the running time of the film, but that a moot point. Kids from about six or seven will love it and the adults will too. Missing Link is without a doubt the most entertaining, original, and intricately beautiful animated film I've seen this year. 

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Missing Link is without a doubt the most entertaining, original, and intricately beautiful animated film of the year.