Film

Missing Link

Name: Missing Link
Genre: Family, Animation, Comedy, Adventure, Action
Released: 2019
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldaña, Zach Galifianakis, Stephen Fry, Timothy Olyphant

Treasure hunt
Light-hearted

A charming stop-motion adventure about a Victorian explorer hunting legendary creatures and befriending the very myth he set out to capture. It's buoyant, handsomely crafted, and pitched at kids and their parents equally—smart enough to reward adult attention without ever becoming a slog. Funny without trying too hard.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love handmade stop-motion with a sly, old-fashioned adventure heart and don't mind a gentle joke aimed over the kids' heads.

Skip it if you want sharp, fast-cut animation, since this one ambles through its snowy travelogue and its society snobs at a leisurely clip.

What it asks of you: Roughly ninety-four minutes of patient, handmade movement, with the comedy arriving in slow, dry bursts rather than a constant barrage.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Troll Hunter2010

A found-footage adventure that treats monsters seriously while staying endlessly entertaining. Sharp writing, genuine danger, and the kind of discovery-through-friendship arc that makes Missing Link sing.

But Subtitled. The found-footage conceit is a bit dated now, and it's slower-burn than Missing Link's romp.

How to Train Your Dragon2010

The same formula executed at the highest level: skeptic meets impossible creature, bonds form, worldviews shatter. Visually richer and more emotionally complex, but shares that joy of friendship across species.

But It's become ubiquitous. If you've already rewatched it thrice, you know what you're getting.

The Tale of Despereaux2008

A fairy-tale adventure with similar warmth and stop-motion beauty. It moves briskly, trusts its audience, and finds genuine pathos without ever stopping the fun.

But The voice cast is less distinctive. The emotional beats lean sentimentality harder than Missing Link dares.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Missing Link

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Cryptozoo2021

Both center the conservation and acceptance of legendary creatures rather than their capture or proof. Both treat cryptozoology with genuine affection rather than mockery.

A hand-drawn adventure about protecting cryptids from exploitation and government capture. Wildly inventive, gorgeously strange, and it trusts its audience to follow visual storytelling. Urgent and weird in the best way.

But Intentionally surreal. The plot is secondary to mood and imagery. Some sequences are deliberately disorienting or dark.

Kubo and the Two Strings2016

Studio Laika's masterwork: adventure, myth, and stunning animation in service of a story about family and forgetting. Visual invention at every frame.

But It's more melancholic than Missing Link, and considerably darker. Some children will find it frightening.

The Jungle Book2016

Friendship between outcast and wild creature, set against a world that wants them separated. Adventure wrapped around genuine emotional stakes and impeccable voice work.

But Live-action/CGI hybrid can look glossy rather than tactile. The source material overshadows the originality.

Paddington 22017

A animated-adjacent adventure (stop-motion-adjacent in spirit) about finding acceptance and home. Funny for everyone, kind without being sappy, and structurally flawless.

But It's become so beloved that contrarianism has set in. Also, less high-stakes adventure, more cosy British charm.

Arthur Christmas2011

Stop-motion comedy-adventure with Hugh Jackman's energy and voice work. Fast-paced, visually inventive, and genuinely funny in the background details.

But The Christmas setting feels limiting outside the season. Some gags haven't aged well, and it's messier than Missing Link's plotting.

Conan the Barbarian1982

The adventure-pulp ancestor of Missing Link's DNA. Raw, mythic, unexpectedly funny, and built on genuine friendship and honor codes. Schwarzenegger and Mako are perfect.

But Violent in ways Missing Link isn't, and slow in ways modern audiences have lost patience for. The dialogue is spare to the point of strangeness.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad1958

A foundational adventure film with stop-motion creatures, genuine danger, and the kind of monster-meets-hero structure Missing Link inverts. Ray Harryhausen's effects are still stunning.

But Very dated pacing and dialogue. The film is short but feels longer. Monster screen time is limited by the labor of the medium.

Creature Comforts1989

Both are Aardman-adjacent in spirit: British humor, stop-motion craft, and the warmth of treating animals as complex, expressive beings. Same studio's DNA.

A 15-minute Oscar-winning stop-motion film in which animated animals narrate real British interview audio about their lives. Hilarious, touching, and technically audacious. Pure cinema from Aardman, the studio behind Missing Link's sensibility.

But Extremely short—you'll want more immediately. It's a short film, not a feature, so narrative is looser. The humor is entirely dependent on the voice samples.