I find that movies with a great cast tend to rely on their talent instead of their script, but even though Missing Link had outstanding actors like Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, and Zoe Saldana, to name a few, the story was still charming and well arranged. I did feel like it was missing more moments with Mr. Link, the sasquatch. Despite this, the movie was still very cute and the message was one that everyone can appreciate. 

Missing Link begins with Sir Lionel Frost, who is brilliantly voiced by Hugh Jackman, showcasing his need for adventure and searching for infamous creatures. This leads him to his hunt for Bigfoot. Upon discovering the sasquatch, Frost realizes the beast is surprisingly well spoken and extremely friendly. They agree to help each other out with their mission to fit in: Frost with the adventurers’ club back in high-society England and Bigfoot with his kind among the abominable snowman. The only person that knows how to get to Shangri-La, and therefore to the snowman, is Frost’s old love-interest, Adelina Fortnight. This is where the true narrative of the movie occurs, and our characters reach a deeper understanding of themselves. 

There are many amusing moments with Sir Frost and the other main characters, and even with the antagonists, Lord Piggot-Dunceby who is voiced by the clever Stephen Fry, and Mr. Stenk, voiced hilariously by Timothy Olyphant. Regardless of the silly humorous moments, the brightest and my favorite part of the movie actually stems from a sad scene. *SPOILER ALERT* After Frost and Link both fail in their mission to fit in, Mrs. Fortnight helps them realize where their true place lies, and that’s with each other. It’s an uplifting and poignant understanding, which illustrates that you can bond with the most unexpected of people, but it creates a family you never knew you needed. Another remarkable part of the movie that deserves to be mentioned is the animation skills. It deserves special recognition on its own because it was so spectacular, especially the nature scenes. They looked so magical, like a book that swallowed you whole and took you on a journey through is forests and oceans and tundras.

However, there were a few things that could have made this movie much better. One point is adding more Mr. Link! I really enjoyed his character and thought he should have been given more lines. I know that he was the means for Sir Frost to realize his own theme, but he was the funniest character. Regardless of this, the movie was still great, but the character that made this movie undeniably weaker was Mrs. Adelina Fortnight. I love Zoe Saldana, the actress who voiced her, but her voice did not match her character. It sounded like such a forced Spanish accent. I know that this might sound ridiculous because Zoe Saldana is a Latina that lived in the Dominican Republic most of her childhood but that proper, royal, Spanish accent sounded so fake. It was distracting. I don’t want to be too rude, but it honestly sounded like a random white girl pretending to be Spanish. The same thing goes for one of the smaller characters and it was also distracting. This is the character Ama Lhamu, a young Himalayan woman who helps act as the trio’s Sherpa up the mountains. She is voiced by an actress of Nepalese-Ukrainian heritage, who mostly grew up in Norway and England. Ama Lhamu also had a forced sounding Asian accent and both were almost upsetting. 

Missing Link was a very cute film despite some of its flaws. I think its message was suitable for all ages, especially older children and adults. It’s about knowing yourself and not trying to change who you are to fit in or force others to like you. Missing Link is a good fable about loving yourself the way you are, and that friendship can occur in some of the most unlikely places. I give this movie a 7.