There is very little that can excite me quite as much as a movie trailer. Because I'm a sucker. I fall for the carefully crafted story, music, and images. Trailers are all potential. They are a mystery that the movie solves. Your impression is formed and your expectation is set.
Missing Link is the latest offering from Laika. The stop-motion animation studio that produced Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, and Kubo and the Two Strings.
Missing Link follows Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) as he seeks to prove the existence of a legendary creature. Mr. Link (Zach Galifianakis), the creature, seeks his relatives on the other side of the world. This certainly appears to be the most mainstream outing from Laika, which may be why I am hesitant to embrace it. It may be the trailer itself. It's very standard fare. Quick cuts, building to jokes, and a jaunty tune. I love "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" as much as the next person, but it's a far cry from the ParaNorman trailer with "Season of the Witch."
After seeing this trailer, I was ready to go the theater right away. But that was the teaser trailer. This is comparing apples to oranges. I had to return to YouTube for the full trailer for ParaNorman.
Here we see something much more formulaic. It doesn't dissuade me from wanting to see the movie, but more of the mystery is solved. The questions about tone, character, and story are more concrete, and less up to my personal imagination and interpretation. So, what about the teaser for Missing Link?
This too seems to be more mainstream. The tone is brighter, chummier, and there is a penis joke. ...classic marketing formula for a kids movie. This may be closer to my issue with the trailers. I want something of more substance, something a little less hokey and childish. This feels like a departure for Laika. I don't doubt that Laika will tell a great story. There is clearly going to be a lot more going on than a simple fish-out-of-water story. The idea of a Sasquatch searching for Yetis is very cinematic. Just check the 1:15 mark of the full trailer for a visual tease. I realized there is a key story element revealed in this trailer that is quite a departure for Laika. The protagonist is different. All Laika protagonists, even Link, are strangers in a duality of strange lands. Coraline explores a new home and a parallel world. Norman is an outcast in the real world and a curiosity in the underworld. Eggs has a home with the Boxtrolls, but is not acclimated to the world of humans. Kubo scrapes by in the real world and struggles to conquer the mythical world. Link, it seems, will be the catalyst for exploring the other world. The difference being in the chaos of these worlds. All the previous Laika protagonists are, in some way, navigating through a chaotic world. A world of strange creatures and exotic locations swirl around them. Link however, is the chaos. There is an ordinary world and Link is extraordinary. Breaking the glass in the train, drawing stares, causing old women to faint, and ripping his pants. Link does not fit in. So, the quest will certainly be to find a place to fit in. Something shared with all the other Laika protagonists, a longing for belonging.
This may seem like a small difference, but it is significant. Link is goofy, insecure maybe but much cheerier and comfortable. Due in large part to Zach Galifiankis' dynamic voiceover work. Missing Link will be a more mainstream film, brighter and more colorful than Laika's previous offerings. Somewhere closer to Aardman and Dreamworks than Don Bluth and Ralph Bakshi. There may be financial pressures that forced this change.
Kubo grossed the least amount of all their films, $77.5 million compared to $107.1 - $124.6 million for their previous films. But it was the most critically acclaimed of their films. Scoring the highest on Rotten Tomatoes (97%) and Metacritic (84). As well as earning two Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Visual Effects. Awards and acclaim are great for indie dramas, but it may not carry as much equity for the competitive world of animated features.
With Laika's pedigree, I don't doubt that they will continue to create unique and original films, but Missing Link looks like it could be their... missing link ...to more mainstream success. Over-Analyzing Final Analysis: Looks cutesy, but I will probably still see it in theaters.
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