Please excuse our lateness of this review! We are covering every Academy Award nominee of 2020, so we’re cleaning up the films we forgot to critique earlier.

Oh boy. When Kubo and the Two Strings came out, I had no idea how Laika was going to top itself. The stop-motion animation was an example of the best you could ever find. The blending of puppetry and green screen technology was seamless. Laika knows how to animate a film through and through, especially by spicing up a nearly-extinct style. So, you know Missing Link is going to carry on this tradition. I can safely say that it does. The expansive jungle and frozen kingdom sets, the intricate outfits and the “link”’s fur, and the never ending skylines are all stunning. As an animation, Missing Link is the best of the year.

As a film with a story, Missing Link is criminally underwhelming. I hate to say this, but it feels like the weakest Laika film thus far, by miles (call it the Weakest Link, heh). I’m not sure if it’s the peculiar pacing, the dry voice acting, or the jokes that just fall flat. Something makes Missing Link feel unexciting, despite all of the stop motion wizardry at your fingertips the entire time. Kubo felt like a journey of your senses. Missing Link is just kind of there. It’s like you’re trying really hard to focus on background noise. I hate saying this, because I have the utmost respect for Laika, and have been itching for them to win big before. At least it secured the Golden Globe win this year, right?

Narrative bores aside, at least the animation in Missing Link is outstanding. — Narrative bores aside, at least the animation in *Missing Link* is outstanding.

Like any Laika film, we end with the credits sequence that breaks down the shooting process of a single moment. You know countless of hours was put into this film, even before this Laika staple. That’s what keeps you going. Obviously, a good story was meant to be told. The heart in each and every frame makes you understand this. For all of the lulling passages, shrug-worthy moments that are meant to be quirky, and connect-the-dots plot points that don’t feel fleshed out enough, there is a crew of people that wanted to bring joy to an audience. Laika’s animation will always move me. I know there’s one powerful tale coming the next time from this studio. This was just a misfire. It happens.

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.