This coming weekend, Mike Mignola's Hellboy won't be the only character making a splash in theaters, as Laika Studios is set to release MISSING LINK, their latest stop-motion animated adventure starring the voice-acting talents of Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Thompson, and Timothy Olyphant, among others.
As part of the lead up to the film’s Friday release, Laika has shared a compelling video detailing their history as one of the most creative studios in the game, leading up to the production and debut of MISSING LINK. As the footage welcomes you into Laika’s “Sanctum Sanctorum” of stop-motion wonders, the studio’s President, CEO, and Lead Animator, Travis Knight, speaks to the tremendous talents of the company’s many artists, fabricators, puppeteers, animators and beyond. Soon thereafter, Jackman, Saldana, and Galifianakis each share a bit of their experience while working within the creative crossroads that is Laika’s Portland, Oregon warehouse.
“You feel like you’re in this factory of dreamers, and everybody’s working on that one small detail with so much perfection, and so much dedication. I really felt like I was in a different world,” Saldana says of her time observing the movie magic cast on MISSING LINK.
Featuring the voice talents of Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Emma Thompson, Timothy Olyphant, Stephen Fry, David Walliams, Matt Lucas, and Zach Galifianakis, among others, MISSING LINK tells the extraordinary journey of Mr. Link (or Susan, if you please), a lone sasquatch longing to reconnect with others of his own kind. After enlisting the aid of an intrepid explorer by the name of Sir Lionel Frost (Jackman), as well as the spirited and regal adventurer, Adelina Fortnight (Saldana), the trio embark on a kaleidoscopic globetrotting adventure to the mythical valley of Shangri-La, where the film’s cryptozoological hero hopes to discover his long lost people.
In addition to the behind-the-scenes featurette, Laika also debuted a new clip for their latest feature, in which Jackman’s Sir Lionel Frost and Mr. Link (Galifianakis) meet for the first time and discuss the details of the Sasquatch’s ability to speak and communicate to a most impressive degree. The exchange highlights a sample of the film’s dry humor, as well as the impressive size and mobility of the Mr. Link and Sir Lionel Frost puppets.
Last month, we were fortunate enough to embark on our own tour of Laika Studios for the making of MISSING LINK. While there, we learned all sorts of amazing facts about how the film was made, and were able to get up close and personal with many of the project’s sets, characters, and creators. Be sure to check it out.
Directed and written by Laika alum Chris Butler (PARANORMAN, CORALINE, CORPSE BRIDE), MISSING LINK will arrive in theaters this Friday, April 12th.