Missing Link

Missing Link is a 2019 American stop-motion animated adventure comedy film written and directed by Chris Butler. The film is produced by Laika and stars the voices of Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, David Walliams, Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas, Timothy Olyphant, Amrita Acharia, Ching Valdes-Aran, Emma Thompson, and Zach Galifianakis. Set in the Pacific Northwest, the plot follows Mr. Link, a Sasquatch who, with the help of British explorers Sir Lionel Frost and Adelina Fortnight, travels to the Himalayas to meet his Yeti cousins. Development on a new stop-motion Laika animated film on "Film Five" began in April 2018, with Butler to direct and write the project and the voice cast announced. Annapurna Pictures distributed the film in the United States, who brought their distributor rights. In May 2018, additional voice cast were announced, with the title being revealed. By June 2018, Laika announced that Missing Link would be released in April 2019. Production was reportedly underway by May 2018 with Laika's artists having constructed over 110 sets with 65 unique locations for the film. AGC International acquired the international distribution rights to the film. Carter Burwell compose the film's musical score. With an budget of $100 million, Missing Link is the most expensive film ever made from Laika and the most expensive stop-motion animated film of all time. Missing Link premiered in New York City on April 7, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 12, 2019 by Annapurna Pictures through United Artists Releasing. Missing Link is Laika's first film not to be distributed by Focus Features. Although it was a box-office failure, grossing $26.2 million against its $102.3 million production budget, losing $101.3 million, the film received positive reviews from critics, who praised its animation, voice-over performances, humor and light-hearted standards compared to other Laika works, although some drew criticism towards the writing. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, making it the first non-computer animated film to win in the category, and the first non-CGI animated film to win a Golden Globe since Waltz with Bashir (2008).