Missing Link (2019 film)
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Missing Link is a 2019 American stop-motion animated adventure film written and directed by Chris Butler and produced by Laika and Annapurna Pictures. It features the voices of Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, David Walliams, Timothy Olyphant, Matt Lucas, Amrita Acharia, and Zach Galifianakis. The plot follows an explorer who encounters a Sasquatch-type creature and must escort him to his Yeti cousins in the Himalayas.
Released in the United States on April 12, 2019 by United Artists Releasing, it was the first Laika film not to be distributed by Focus Features. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised the "exquisitely crafted sets and a pleasant, easygoing vibe".
Plot
Sir Lionel Frost, a struggling investigator of mythical creatures, has continuously searched for different creatures to study and announce their presence in the world, which would allow him to be accepted into a society of other "great men", which is lead by Frost's rival Lord Piggot-Dunceby. Frost receives a letter acknowledging the presence of a Sasquatch, making a deal with Piggot-Dunceby that would allow him to join the society if he proved that the creature was real.
Frost travels to the Pacific Northwest, eventually stumbling upon the Sasquatch in a forest. After dubbing him "Mr. Link," Frost is told by the Sasquatch that he was in fact the one who sent the letter. Mr. Link requests Frost's help in finding his relatives, the Yetis, in the Himalayas. Frost agrees to help him, but is unbeknownst to the fact that Piggot-Dunceby has hired a bounty hunter named Willard Stenk to track Frost and kill him, ensuring that he never ridicules the society again with his continuous searches.
Frost's old lover Adelina Fortnight has a map to the Himalayas locked in a safe that belonged to her late husband. Frost goes to Fortnight's mansion to inquire about the map, but she sees through his charm and deception. Frost and Mr. Link come back later at night and break in, but Mr. Link makes too much noise while attempting to get into the safe and it eventually falls out of the window cracking open in the aftermath. Frost and Mr. Link grab the map and escape, but are discovered the next day by Fortnight who allows them to search for the Yetis as long as she is there to accompany them. Stenk arrives and a shootout ensues, but the trio trick their pursuer into hopping on the train to search for them.
The trio make their journey via boat, and Fortnight confronts Frost about his selfishness and shows him how much Mr. Link believes in him. Frost enjoys a heartwarming talk with Mr. Link on the boat's deck where Mr. Link gives himself the name of Susan. However, they are once again ambushed by Stenk. After various scuffles across different parts of the ship, the trio eventually locks Stenk in the boat's boarding rooms while they make another escape.
The trio eventually makes their way to the Himalayas and are pointed in the direction of the Yeti temple. The Yeti and their elder are not fond of their visitors and are highly secretive, throwing the trio in a pit for them to stay until they die. Susan gives Fortnight a boost and she knocks down a few Yeti guards, allowing them to stack them and escape. They run across the ice bridge, but Piggot-Dunceby and Stenk confront the trio at the center of the bridge. Frost has a change of heart after being shown by Fortnight that Susan needs him and that he accepts him more than the society ever will. As a result, Piggot-Dunceby rams his cane into the bridge, causing it to crack and break. Piggot-Dunceby falls to his death while Frost and the trio make a run for it. They are too late and are left hanging on the ice's cliffside. Stenk, who has made it all the way across, taunts Frost, which leads to the two engaging in a slapping fight while hanging onto the side of the cliff. The trio work together to rid themselves of Stenk, who falls to his death after an icicle breaks and falls on him. Frost appoints Susan as his new partner in investigations, who blows a raspberry at the Yeti leader.
After arriving home, Fortnight tells Frost that she will be adventuring on her own for a while and departs, but not before the pair share a brief mutual acceptance of their feelings for each other. Susan and Frost arrive back at the latter's workspace and begin their next case. After they leave, the camera zooms in on a framed photo of the two friends.
