10 Surprisingly Dark Moments In Laika's Missing Link
It's not the darkest of Laika's films, but it definitely bears their mark.
Laika's latest stop-motion animation feature, Missing Link, has been incredibly well-received since its opening. It currently sits at 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, hardly surprising for a film by the same company responsible for masterpieces such as Coraline and Kubo And The Two Strings. What's surprising, however, is that the company responsible for those same films made such a seemingly bright movie.
The company excels when it comes to darkness and oddball humor. While Missing Link contains quite a bit of the latter, those who've only seen the trailers might be under the impression that it contains far less of the former. The lush greens and solid blues of the scenery create an atmosphere of literal brightness, while the trailer's moments of interaction between Hugh Jackman's Lionel Frost and Zach Galifianakis' Mr. Link (also known as Susan) are fairly upbeat.
Don't let first impressions fool you. Missing Link is most certainly a Laika film. It may be somewhat brighter in tone, but it can be incredibly dark at times. This will please audiences with a twisted sense of humor, but those with sensitive children may want to consider the following ten moments before bringing the kids along to see this one.
Warning: Bigfoot lives in the forest where spoilers can't reach him. You, on the other hand, are about to run headlong into a couple.
10. Lionel's Okay With Killing His Assistants
Sir Lionel Frost seeks the sasquatch alone, not by choice but rather because his assistant leaves him early in the film. After an encounter with the Loch Ness Monster, assistant Lemuel Lint finds himself dragged through the water in Nessie's jaws. When Lint voices frustration with his employer for allowing him to be put in this kind of danger, Frost tells him to be grateful that he was able to enjoy such a rare experience. Lint points out that it's rare because others who encountered Nessie have died.
If Lint is aware of previous times that Nessie has killed, it's almost certain that Frost knows about them as well. Nonetheless, he doesn't seem bothered in the least when Nessie snatches Lint from the boat. He simply takes a breath, lassos the creature, and pegs it in the eye. Frost isn't upset that his assistant was put into harm's way, nor is he guilty about stabbing a prehistoric lake monster. The only guilt he feels over the entire encounter is that the picture he took of Nessie trying to eat Lint was lost when the camera broke.
The action here is great, and Frost's inability to keep an assistant is an aspect of his character that becomes relevant as he learns to care more about others over the course of the film. There's a bit of fridge darkness here, however, when you stop to realize that Frost's ignorance of others' feelings is so bad that he can't even understand why his colleagues want him to care whether they live or die. People are collateral, and saving their lives can wait until he's taken a photograph of their near deaths.