— by Keith Hawkes
PARENT PREVIEWS –
Making Media Entertainment An Easier Choice For Families
Missing
Link
PG
OVERALL RATING:
A-
VIOLENCE: (B) An individual is bitten (but shown later completely unharmed) by the Loch Ness
Monster. A classic saloon fight breaks out, with the usual punching, tackling, and throwing. Another
fist fight occurs. A person is chased with an axe. Two individuals fall to their deaths, and a third is
impaled by a falling icicle before falling as well. Several times throughout the movie, characters are
shot at, but no one is ever hit.
SEXUAL CONTENT: (A) None.
LANGUAGE: (A-) One or two terms of deity are used, but that’s all.
ALCOHOL / DRUG USE: (B-) Adult characters are shown drinking socially, but never to excess. No
one is depicted as intoxicated at any point.
ANNAPURNA PICTURES
Released on DVD:
July 23, 2019
For additional
information on this
film’s content, visit
www.parentpreviews.com
S
ir Lionel Frost (Hugh
Jackman) is desperate
to prove the existence
of all manner of fantastic beasts,
from mermaids to unicorns, and
even the Loch Ness Monster!
Frost hopes to use this evidence
to earn admission to an exclusive
club for famous adventurers,
“The Optimates Club.” Unfortu-
nately for Frost, his membership
is heavily opposed by its leader,
Lord Piggot-Dunceb (Stephen
Fry), who makes a wager with Frost, guar-
anteeing acceptance to the club if he can
prove the existence of Bigfoot.
As Frost leaves, Lord Piggot-Dunceb
immediately sets out to sabotage him, hir-
ing diminutive hitman Willard Stenk (Tim-
othy Olyphant) to track him down. When
Frost finds the Bigfoot, who assumes the
name of Susan Link (Zach Galifianakis),
Frost makes another deal: he will help Su-
san find a new home, and in return, Susan
will give him some samples to take back to
the Optimate Club to prove his existence.
I’ll start with my gripes, since they’re
pretty minor. First, the plot is basically just
a reworking of Jules Verne’s classic novel,
Around the World in 80 Days, but with a
lonely Sasquatch replacing Passepartout.
Second, the film builds a lot of jokes around
Susan’s tendency to take everything literal-
ly, which for me, stopped being funny back
when Star Trek: The Next Generation was
doing that with Data.
Otherwise, Missing Link is a fun and
surprisingly charming kids’ movie. The
voice cast is superb, and Hugh Jackman is
TALK ABOUT THE MOVIE
WITH YOUR FAMILY…
Sir Lionel feels that he is a
better person than his behavior
would indicate. What do you
think? Can a person be “good”
if they behave badly?
clearly having a blast. While some of the
jokes fell a little flat, by being too complex
for younger viewers and too dumb for par-
ents, others got laughs from the whole the-
atre.
The highlight of this film is its unique
style, which weds colorful stop motion ani-
mation with computer graphics to create a
beautiful and intriguing world. Not only
are the characters’ appearances and anima-
tion synced perfectly to their vocal perfor-
mances, but the set pieces and overall visual
design are just as eye-grabbing. Frankly, the
animation is what sells a lot of the humor,
and it would be a much weaker film if it
were all done on a computer.
There is little here for parents to be
concerned about, although some of the vio-
lence and action sequences might frighten
very small children. That said, the little one
sitting behind me was about three years old
and handled it all just fine. Kids’ movies can
be tedious for the parents who have to take
them, but Missing Link is one that anyone
over voting age will not just endure but en-
joy.
Susan is looking for the
place he belongs. Where do you
feel you belong? Why is that?
What do you think Susan found
at the end, and do you think
that’s the same as finding where
he belonged?
WATCH AT HOME…
Older kids will enjoy Coraline¸
which features a similar animation style,
although with a much darker and scarier
plot. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them features many mythical animals set
in J K Rowling’s magical world.
The Indiana Jones movies feature
swashbuckling adventure in exotic lo-
cales. And older viewers who want more
wild adventure will probably get a kick
out of Lost City of Z.
LOVED THE MOVIE?
TRY THESE BOOKS…
Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80
Days features a very similar plot structure,
although admittedly without any Yetis.
Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven series fo-
cuses on magical preserves hidden around
the world that shelter fantastical animals.
Paul Stewart and Chris Riddel’s Edge
Chronicles are a series of books featuring
heroic characters and mysterious beasts
going on fabulous adventures.
August 2019 WNY Family 23