Laika’s Missing Link set for a spring 2019 release

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Unlike Disney and Pixar who are popping out a new animated movie every year, stop-motion studio Laika releases one every two or three years. The result is often a visual stupendous film with a heartfelt story to match, making it a film that makes the wait worth it. The same will likely be of their latest and fifth film, MISSING LINK, which will officially be getting a spring 2019 release.

A press release out of Cannes didn’t reveal an exact date, but it did give a hefty amount of detail about the story and characters. Directed by Oscar-nominee Chris Butler (who did one of Laika’s best with PARANORMAN) is at the helm here, and the movie has an all-star cast including Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Emma Thompson, Zach Galifianakis, Stephen Fry, and Timothy Olyphant.

Here are the official synopsis and first image (above):

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The charismatic Sir Lionel Frost (voiced by Hugh Jackman) considers himself to be the world's foremost investigator of myths and monsters. The trouble is none of his small-minded high-society peers seems to recognize this. Sir Lionel's last chance for acceptance by the adventuring elite rests on traveling to America's Pacific Northwest to prove the existence of a legendary creature. A living remnant of Man's primitive ancestry. The Missing Link.

 Zach Galifianakis is Mr. Link: the slightly silly, surprisingly smart and soulful beast upon whom Sir Lionel's dreams depend. As species go, he's as endangered as they get; he's the last of his kind, and he's lonely. Proposing a daring quest to seek out his rumored distant relatives, he enlists Sir Lionel's help in an odyssey around the world to find the fabled valley of Shangri-La.

 Together with Adelina Fortnight (voiced by Zoe Saldana), an independent and resourceful adventurer who possesses the only known map to the group's secret destination, the unlikely trio embarks on a riotous rollercoaster of a ride. Along the way, our fearless explorers encounter more than their fair share of peril, stalked at every turn by dastardly villains seeking to thwart their mission. Through it all, Mr. Link's disarming charm and good-humored conviction provide the emotional and comedic foundation of this fun-filled family film. 

The CEO of Laika and BUMBLEBEE director Travis Knight obviously couldn’t speak any higher of the movie, saying it’s their most visually wondrous movie yet. That’s a bold statement coming from the director of KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS.

Missing Link is an artistic and technical wonder. Led by our visionary director Chris Butler, LAIKA has once again blended fine art, craftsmanship, and cutting-edge technology to achieve something we've never tried before: a raucous comedy entwined with a swashbuckling epic underscoring the universal need to find belonging. Commingling keenly felt emotion, madcap humor, and retina-bursting visuals, Missing Link is a kaleidoscopic cinematic experience unlike any other. It's the most striking thing we've ever done.

KUBO was the last film from the studio, coming out around fall of 2016. Though the movie’s lowest grossing effort and the only one to not crack $100 million at the worldwide box office (with $77 million), KUBO was still the best-reviewed movie of their then four-movie catalog and is often considered their best film.

Laika is always putting quality over quantity, and the end result is something that's always amazing to look at. KUBO was otherworldly, so LINK will have a tough time matching up to the power of those visuals. But, it will probably be great, as most of their movies are. Everything's great when Hugh Jackman is around.

MISSING LINK will hit theaters spring 2019.