Missing Link

One of the great things about myths and legends, from Bigfoot to the Loch Ness Monster, is that you can acknowledge their absurdity without totally debunking or dismissing them.

Such a balance is utilized for comic value in Missing Link, a breezy and charming stop-motion animated adventure that really kicks into gear once the title character joins the mayhem.

The film centers on Lionel Frost (voiced by Hugh Jackman), a Victorian-era British explorer known for his investigations of mythical creatures. So when he receives an anonymous letter with credible evidence suggesting a Sasquatch sighting in the Pacific Northwest, he sets sail for America.

Upon arrival, he has little trouble tracking down the 8-foot beast (Zach Galifianakis), but is surprised to find that not only does he speak English, but actually sent the letter himself. It turns out the lonely Yeti — who later adopts the nickname Susan — needs Frost’s help in traveling to the Himalayas, supposedly home to a secluded utopian Yeti paradise.

Frost likewise requires Susan’s help to accomplish his own goal, proving his legitimacy to skeptics in a smug London gentleman’s club who regard him as a laughingstock. But they’d rather not be proven wrong, and are willing to sabotage Frost’s efforts to save face.

He and Susan visit the feisty Adelina (Zoe Saldana), the daughter of one of Frost’s former colleagues who trades a vital map in exchange for inclusion in their globetrotting journey.

The film is stylishly rendered and exquisitely detailed given the laborious nature of the stop-motion animated process, which has continued to evolve and kept pace in the landscape of contemporary animation. Susan is particularly well conceived both physically and anthropomorphically.

While poking fun at stuffy British aristocracy, most of the slapstick gags and one-liners in the screenplay by director Chris Butler (Paranorman) hit the mark, spreading the wealth among children and adults. Plus, the appealing voice work by Jackman and Galifianakis bolsters the odd-couple chemistry of the protagonists.

Their adventure is hampered by some fish-out-of-water predictability and an overindulgence in unnecessary crudeness. The villains are thinly sketched and their motives are silly at best.

Yet hopefully kids will grasp the worthwhile lessons of acceptance, loyalty, and embracing your heritage. Like its lead character, Missing Link has its heart in the right place.

Rated PG, 94 minutes.